IMPHAL, October 24: The Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy has said that a 16-member troupe of the academy led by director L Upendro Sharma has returned to Imphal after successfully presenting Manipuri dance and music in different cities of Japan from October 13 to 19 during the ongoing festival of India in Japan organised by Sangeet Natak Akademi, Ministry of Culture, Government of India and Embassy of India in Japan.
According to a release of the academy, the group returned on October 20.
The 1st performance of Manipuri group was presented in the Vivekananda Cultural Centre, Tokyo on October 14 in presence of Ambassador of India in Japan, Deepa G Wadhwa, other foreign dignitaries, MPs from India, artistes and public of Tokyo and the 2nd performance was held at Onagawa Town on October 16, it said.
The group presented its third programme at Sendai, a famous commercial area of Japan on October 17 and performed the most popular dance-drama of the academy `Keibul Lamjao`™ (Sangai) with items such as Dhol Cholom, Thang-Ta and Vasanta Raas, it said before adding that the final presentation was made on October 19 in Yokohama City on the occasion of Diwali mela during which Lai-haraoba, Dhol Cholom and Thang-Ta were presented.
Director of Meheila Museum, Japan Tokio Hasegawa who is also an expert on Indian culture was the coordinator of the Manipuri programme, it said.