History of Manipuri Dance

Series Summary

Manipuri dance is a form of classical Indian dancing that originated in the state of Manipur, India. Originally performed in temples, Manipuri dance formed an integral part of religious and social ceremonies in Manipur. Traditionally, Manipuri dance is delicate, lyrical and graceful with an aim to avoid any jerking movements or sharp edges. In fact, even during vigorous movements, the dancers feet should not pound down hard on the ground as that would interefere with the delicate flow of the dance movements.


In this free video series, our expert will show you how to do dance Manipuri dance steps. You will get expert tips and instructions on the lunglei uplei steps, chaali steps and jumping steps for Manipuri dance. You will also learn how to do hopping steps, hand movements, and basic footwork. Finally, get tips on proper, traditional costume for Manipuri dance and see a demonstration of the dance in action. If you are interested in learn Manipuri dance, let our expert show you everything you need to know in this free video dance lesson.

Video Transcript

"In this clip we're going to talk about the history of Manipur and Manipuri dance. Manipur is a state in North East India. It's one of the seven sister states of that area. It's on the border of Myanmar. Dance has always been a very important part in the religious ceremonies of Manipur. Even before Hinduism was introduced, the traditional rituals and ceremonies of the original religion of Manipur, utilized dance as part of its ceremonies. In the seasonal ceremony of Lairahoba which is the spring time ritual. Manipuri dance was used to please the Gods and as part of the complete ceremony. Also the High priestesses of Manipur called Maibis utilized this dance as their ceremony. And also as a vehicle to enter the trance states. Now, later Hinduism was introduced by the monarchy in Manipur. And they developed and codified a classical court dance under the Raas Lila tradition which tells us stories of the Lord Krishna. Now Krishna was one of the favorite Hindu gods that was adopted in Manipur. Many Manipuri people worshiped Krishna specifically out of the Hindu Pantheon of Gods. Now this king, he had a vision, a dream that he saw Radha and Krishna dancing together. And he wanted to recreate this vision in a performance. So he got all the dancers and all the dance teachers from Manipur. And got them together. And together they helped develop and codify a specific technique. Which is the technique that were going to be focusing on in these upcoming clips of classical Manipuri dance."