IMPHAL, January 17: The second day of the Dance Drama festival, organised by Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, JNMDA was marked by pulsating performance of ‘Moirang Sha’ by the artiste of the institution this evening.
Before the performance, speaking as the chief guest of the function onthe 2nd day of the festival, former Director of JNMDA, Khumanthem Prakash, who is also a recipient of Sahitya Akademi exhorted that Indian classical dance is incomplete without Manipuri dance. “Beyond doubt, Manipuri dance has occupied an exalted position in the arena of dance not only in India but also across the world”, he said.
Recalling his experience of serving the academy as a Director, the noted writer maintained that Manipuri artiste troupe, particularly of the JNMDA used to perform at the end of all performances in most of the dance festivals organised in the country.
“We have to perform at the end as per the request of the organiser to avoid the audience from leaving too early. Most of the audience would mostly wait to see Manipuri performance”, he added. He also recalled how European countries received Manipuri dance with great delight in most of the tours the artiste of JNMDA took since its inception.
Noted critic of the state, N Tombi, who is also the former Vice Chairman of JNMDA speaking on the occasion said that the institution in its early days were nurtured under the tutelage of gurus like Meisnam Amubi Singh, Haobam Atomba Singh and RK Priyogopalsana. He stressed that there is a need to chronicle the works of these gurus so that their artistic contribution can be well-maintained for posterity.
Tombi added that choreography needs wide knowledge of music and dance forms which are rooted in Manipuri aesthetics. He said the JNMDA has produced acclaimed choreographers in the past, adding that there is immediate need to groom new generation of choreographers.
It may be mentioned that today’s Dance Drama ‘Moirang Sha’ is choreographed and directed by W Lokendrajit Singh, who also played the role of ‘Moirang Sha’ in the presentation. The music is composed by late Guru Kulla Singh.