Manipuri Dance: Artists & Performers

The most well known performers and teachers are the (late) Guru Bipin Singh, his wife Kalabati Devi and Guru Singhajeet and his wife Charusheela. Guru Nileshwar Mukharjeee from Bangladesh and Guru Senarik Rajkumar from India are well known to manipuri society as with them the new department of Manipuri Dance was created in the Shantiniketan in the early thirties. The present noted Manipuri dancers of India and Bangladesh, as well as international fame are Hanjaba Guru Bipin Singha, Guru Chandrakanta Singha - Nartanachrya, Guru Nilmadhab Mukharjee, Guru Haricharan singha, Bibhaboti Devi, Kalabati Devi etc. Most of them have their dancing tours on the manipuri to England, America, Rassia, Australia, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, Hongkong, Thailand, Bhutan, Srilanka etc. and earned great name and fame for their style. Among Non-Manipuri dancers, the names of Preeti Patel, Sruti Banerjee, Tamanna Rahman.In Bombay the famous performers and teachers are the Jhaveri sisters - Nayana,Suverna, Darshana and Ranjana Jahveri. They continue this tradition at their institution 'Manipuri Nartanalaya'.

Music & Costumes

The musical  accompaniment to manipuri dances is played on an instrument rather like a guitar called the khol and mrodangam. But sometimes the singing is done by a group whose member do not join the dance. When the drummer and the dancers together execute certain quick talas each in his own medium, tempo of the dance increases and the quick rhythmic pattern is enchanting to watch.

Costumes are very important for this dance form. The women were a tight fitting conical cap made of black velvet or some other material under a thin veil. Modern dancers wear a top or side bun instead of the cap. Choli is usually made of velvet with fitting sleeves with golden embroidery. The ghagra is always vibrant colored and must have some mirror work on it.
 Male dancers always wears a dhoti with embroidered bands across his chest ending in flaps that fall over both hips. In Ras-Leela Krishna is gorgeously attired in a pleated dhoti of golden or yellow silk. The chest is being covered by necklace.

Female costume

Male costume

Various forms of manipuri dance -2

Khamba Thoibi dance

A dance of dedication to the sylvan deity, Khamba Thoibi dance is a duet of male and female partners. This dance is a part and parcel of Moirang Lai-Haraoba. It is believed that the legendary hero - Khamba and heroin - Thoibi danced together before the Lord Thangjing, a celebrated deity of Moirang, a village in the South-West of Manipur which is known for its rich cultural traditions, for peace and prosperity of the land. This dance is a depiction of the dance performed by Khamba and Thoibi. This, along with the "Maibi" dance (Priestess dance), the "Leima Jagoi" etc. form the "Laiharaoba" dance. The "Laiharaoba" dance, in many ways, is the fountainhead of the modern Manipuri dance form.

Pung Cholom

Pung or Manipuri Mridanga is the soul of Manipuri Sankritana music and Classical Manipuri Dance. It assumes an important ritual character, an indispensable part of all social and devotional ceremonies in Manipur, - the instrument itself becoming an object of veneration. Pung Cholom is performed as an invocatory number preceding the Sankirtana and Ras Lila. It is hignly refined classical dance number characterised by the modulation of sound from soft whisper to a thunderous climax. There is an interplay of intricate rhythms and cross rhythms with varying markings of time from the slow to the quick with graceful and vigorous body movements leading to ecstatic heights.

Maibi Dance

A way of reliving life as in the past, this dance is performed during the festival of Lai-Haraoba which is an annual ritual festival of the Meiteis(inhabitants of the valley of Manipur). The Maibis, the priestesses considered to be spritural mediums, depict the entire concept of cosmogony of the Meitei people and describe their way of life through their dances. Begining with the process of creation, they show the construction of houses and various occupations that people undertake to sustain themselves. 

Nupa Pala

Nupa Pala which is otherwise known as Kartal Cholom or Cymbal Dance is a characteristic of the Manipuri style of dance and music. The initial movements of this dance are soft and serene, gradually gathering momentum. It is a group performance of male partners, using using cymbals and wearing snow white ball-shaped large turbans, who sing and dance to the accompaniment of Mridanga, an ancient classical drum "Pung" as it is called in Manipuri. The Nupa Pala acts as a prologue to the Ras Lila dances, besides an independent performance too, in connection with religious rites.

Ras Lila

The Ras Lila depicts the fond love of Radha for Lord Krishna as well as the sheer devotion of the Gopies toward the Lord. It is generally performed in an enclosure in front of the temple throughout night. Ras performances are seasonal and varied and performed at the temple of Shree Shree Govindajee in Imphal on the nights of Basanta Purnima, Sarada Purnima and Kartik Purnima and at local temples later. As to the composition, the performance is a combination of solo, duet and group dances. The dances are graceful and so are the costumes.

 

Various forms of manipuri dance -1

The Vaishnava faith brought along with it the origin of the Manipuri dance. The repertoire is dominated by the themes from the Vishnu Puranas, Bhagvata Puranas, and Geeta Govinda. Slow and gracious movements differentiate Manipuri from other dance styles. The delicate arm movements and gentle foot work characterizes this dance form. Any form of jerks, sharp edges or straight lines in the dance is not seen, which is the only reason as to why Manipuri dance is known for its undulating and soft appearance. While the female 'Rasa' dances is based on the Radha-Krishna theme feature group ballets and solos, the male 'Sankirtana' dances are performed to the pulsating rhythm of the Manipuri Dholak and are full of vitality and energy.  The Raas Leela depicts the cosmic dance of Krishna and the cowherd maidens. The beautiful embroidered skirts of the dancers, long and flared from the waist, and the translucent veils, along with Krishna's costume with the tall peacock feather crown, add to the radiant appearance of this dance, as the performers sway and twirl to an ascending tempo. 

The Lai Haroba, a ritualistic dance depicting the Creation, is considered the precursor of Manipuri as seen today. The Lai Haroba is still an important living tradition, while Manipuri has expanded and gained popularity as a performing art in group and solo presentations. 

Among the important constituents of the Manipuri repertoire
another vibrant feature of Manipuri is the Pung Cholam or Drum dance, in which dancers play on the drum known as Pung while dancing with thrilling leaps and turns to a fast rhythm. http://www.webindia123.com/dances/Manipuri/technique.htm

History

The past and origin of Manipuri dance is not clear. There are many myths and legends that have been associated with it.The Manipuris consider themselves the descendants of the Gandharvas. Gandharvas were the legendary musicians, and dancers in the celestial courts of Indira king of 'Swarg' or Heaven . The earliest records of this dance form date back to about 100 AD.  King Bhagyachandra of 17th century, established Manipuri dance on a systematic basis. He gave the Rasleelas (dance dramas) and Sankirtan (form of invocation) a new outlook and composed three of the five types of Ras Lilas - the Maha Ras, the Basanta Ras and the Kunja Ras.

 King Bhagyachandra also designed the beautiful Manipuri dance costume. In the 19th century, Maharaja Gambhir Singh composed the two parengs of the tandava type - the Goshtha Bhangi Pareng and the Goshtha Vrindaban Pareng. During this time, Maharaja Chandra Kirti Singh shaped the 64 Pung choloms or drum dances and two parengs of the Lasya type - the Vrindaban Bhangi Pareng and Khrumba Bhangi Pareng. Nitya Ras have also been accredited to him. However, it was the continuous efforts of Rabindranath Tagore and other Gurus that the dance became popular even outside the region. Unlike many other dance forms, Manipuri has retained its ancient ritual based dances and folk dances along with the later developed classical Manipuri dance style.
http://www.webindia123.com/dances/Manipuri/manipuri.htm
http://dances.iloveindia.com/classical-dances/manipuri.html