Biggest ever study of Indian dance forms in the UK

LONDON: An ambitious project to research, film and archive the history of India's Manipuri and Tagore dance forms in the UK has been launched with funding from Britain's Heritage Lottery Fund.

The project titled 'Legacy' will be the biggest ever study of the history of Manipuri and Tagore dance forms in the UK, according to Nrityakala The Rhythm, a London-based organisation, responsible for implementing the project.

"We are proud to have support from the Heritage Lottery Fund. For the next 18 months we plan to organise workshops and performances in some of the big cities of the UK, followed by a grand finale in London that will comprise performances and screenings of two new films on the subject," Bithika Raha Basu, director of the Legacy project, told PTI.

She is also the founding director of Nrityakala The Rhythm.

Basu, who is an expert on Manipuri dance, said: "Very few people know that the Manipuri and Tagore dance forms have always enjoyed patronage and encouragement in the UK for the last 60 years.

"Besides researching and recording the oral history of these two dance forms in the UK, we are keen to disseminate the knowledge that we endeavour to gather during the project period by organising talent hunts, workshops and dance recitals at various venues."

Renowned poet Rabindranath Tagore was an ardent admirer of Manipuri dance. As he wrote poetry, plays and composed music, he evolved a unique form of dance, a combination of Manipuri, Bharatnatyam, Kathak and Kathakali, that later came to be known as Tagore dance.