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| An artiste performs during the festival. Picture by Salam Enaomacha |
Academic activities have come to a complete halt in Manipur over the alleged “fake encounter” in Imphal on July 23 but the same cannot be said of cultural festivals and films.
A three-day Manipuri classical solo dance festival, organised by the Manipur State Kala Akademi at the auditorium of Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Akademi, Imphal, concluded on Wednesday.
The festival was an attempt to introduce the Manipuri classical dance, Ras Lila, which in essence is a group performance, in the Indian classical solo style.
Seven young performers, N. Priyolata, O. Jelen, H. Bidyalaxmi, K. Kalyani, H. Ganga, L. Soniya and N. Sonia, tried to maintain the tradition of bhakti and prem of Raas Lila in their experimental performance but they appeared a little uneasy to the audience.
While the experiment is welcome in the ever-changing cultural trend of society, Manipuri classical dance needs to incorporate some changes and evolve more in its solo form.
One needs to concentrate on the dance composition, which is more entertaining and shorter. One should not always be bound by age-old tradition in performance and should focus on creativity.
Interestingly, there was only one male performer in the festival. Men appear to be dissociating themselves from this art form, probably because they consider it to be women’s domain.
Three of the women dancers, Priyolata, Sonia and Kalyani, hold masters degrees in Manipuri dance from Manipur University.
On the opening day of the festival, Priyolata performed four items — Manglacharan, Phijet Leiteng (dressing), Kalhannta Reeta and Gouranga. Her expressions and movements were full of bhakti and prem. She depicted Yashoda dressing Krishna and Radha’s passion for Krishna within a stipulated time.
The Manipuri classical dance is generally presented on a smaller stage, which is normally surrounded by audiences on all four sides. To perform in an auditorium which is more spacious, the artistes, supported by light, music and sound, need to use dance movements that cover the entire stage. In this festival, that did not happen.