Muriel Manings and William Korff papers, 1914-2007

Biographical Note

Muriel Manings (1923-2018) received her bachelor's degree in psychology from Brooklyn College in 1945. Her dance training began in the 1940s with the New Dance Group, and she also trained at the Martha Graham School and the Hanya Holm Studio. She performed with the dance companies of Jane Dudley, Sophie Maslow, and William Bales and the New Dance Group during the 1940s to 1960s, and of the twenty-plus dance pieces she choreographed, many were for herself and husband William Korff. In the 1951 season of the New York City Opera Company, Manings danced in The Dybbuk, and in 1954, she appeared as one of the Kids in the Broadway production of Sandhog, both choreographed by Maslow. She was artistic director of the Repertory Dancers of New Jersey (1969-1971) and the Muriel Manings Dance Company (1968-1972), as well as a guest choreographer and teacher at the Escuela de Artes y Conjunto Moderno in Cuba. In the late 1980s, Manings performed with Dance Theatre Etcetera (DTE), a community-based performance company located in Brooklyn. Considered a master teacher, Manings taught at the New Dance Group Studio, American Dance Festival, Connecticut College, Buck's Rock Work Camp, and the 92nd Street Y. For many years she was the dance coordinator at Queensborough Community College, CUNY. Manings served on the board of the New Dance Group, was a president of the New York State Dance Association, and served as northeast coordinator for the American College Dance Festival Association. Manings was president of the American Dance Guild from 1992 to 1996. Her essays can be found in Dance Magazine, American Dance, and Choreography and Dance. She also contributed articles to the International Encyclopedia of Dance. Below is a list of her choreography:

William Korff (1920-2001) grew up during the Great Depression. After his mother was institutionalized and his father became unemployed, William and his brother were sent to the Hebrew Orphan Asylum in Manhattan. Korff studied theater at the Theater for Action and the New School for Social Research. He was a founding member of New Drama, one of the first racially integrated theaters producing political work. He worked in a variety of capacities in theater: actor, director, teacher, and costume and scenic designer. Korff studied dance at the New Dance Group Studio and performed professionally on and off Broadway and in the dance companies of Sophie Maslow and Jean Erdman. He met Muriel Manings at the New Dance Group; they were married in 1950.