Marian Anna Horosko was born in Cleveland, Ohio on August 4, 1925. She made her debut as a dancer at the age of 12 with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. She studied at the Juilliard School and the School of American Ballet. She appeared on Broadway in the ensemble of Oklahoma! and in two musical revues. She also appeared as a dancer in the 1951 movies Royal Wedding and An American in Paris. She danced with the Metropolitan Ballet from 1951 to 1954 and then for eight years with New York City Ballet.
After her performing career ended in the early 1960s, she became an author. She was an editor and writer at Dance Magazine for many years. She also wrote several books including Martha Graham: The Evolution of Her Dance Theory and Training, May O'Donnell: Modern Dance Pioneer, and The Dancer's Survival Manual: Everything You Need to Know About Being a Dancer ¿ Except How to Dance written with Judith F. Kupersmith, a fellow dancer at City Ballet and psychiatrist.
She was a film curator of the Lincoln Center Dance Collection and produced and consulted on dance programs for television and radio. In the late 1960s, she traveled to Cuba to produce a documentary with National Educational Television on the ballerina Alicia Alonso. She died on September 11, 2017 at the age of 92.
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