Manipuri dance, also referred to as the Manipuri Raas Leela, is a jagoi and is one of the major Indian classical dance forms, originating from the state of Manipur. It is one of the greatest cultural achievements of the traditional Vaishnavism adhering Meitei people of Manipur. Owing to the Meitei civilization, the classical dance form, first formally developed by Meitei Hindu king Ching Thang Khomba of the Kingdom of Manipur, is considered to be the highest spiritual expression of the worship of Hindu deity Krishna.
Owing to its huge influences on the diverse cultural heritages across the Indian subcontinent, it is recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi of the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India as one of the few primary classical dance forms of the Republic of India, and is honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Manipuri annually.
It is referred to as the "national dance" during the Armenia-India joint issue of postage stamps, as a part of the Armenia-India international relations.
An illustration of the Manipuri Raas Leela dance, being depicted in a stamp from Armenia; transliterations of "Jagoi Raas" and "Manipuri Raas Leela", the terms in Meitei language (officially called Manipuri) and Sanskrit respectively, for the Manipuri classical dance, in Meitei script (Manipuri script) of medieval era
A Manipuri dance musician playing pung cholom. The 19th century musician and Hindu Meitei king Chandra Kirti wrote sixty four drum dances.
Pung Cholom performance in 2016
Manipuri Raas Leela dancers in traditional costumes.
Indian classical dance, or Shastriya Nritya, is an umbrella term for different regionally-specific Indian classical dance traditions, rooted in predominantly Hindu musical theatre performance, the theory and practice of which can be traced to the Sanskrit text Natya Shastra.
The number of Indian classical dance styles ranges from six to eight to twelve, or more, depending on the source and scholar; the main organisation for Indian arts preservation, the Sangeet Natak Academy recognizes eight: Bharatanatyam, Kathak, Kuchipudi, Odissi, Kathakali, Sattriya, Manipuri and Mohiniyattam. Additionally, the Indian Ministry of Culture includes Chhau in its list, recognising nine total styles. Scholars such as Drid Williams add Chhau, Yakshagana and Bhagavata Mela to the list. Each dance tradition originates and comes from a different state and/or region of India; for example, Bharatanatyam is from Tamil Nadu in the south of India, Odissi is from the east coast state of Odisha, and Manipuri is from the northeastern state of Manipur. The music associated with these different dance performances consists many compositions in Hindi, Malayalam, Meitei (Manipuri), Sanskrit, Tamil, Odia, Telugu, and many other Indian-Subcontinent languages; they represent a unity of core ideas, and a diversity of styles, costumes and expression.
An illustration of the Manipuri Raas Leela Dance (Meitei: Jagoi Raas, Raas Jagoi), one of the officially recognised classical dance forms of India, depicted on a postage stamp from Armenia.
Bharatanatyam
Kathak
Kathakali