O.C. DANCE REVIEW : An Otherworldly Troupe

From mysticism to martial arts, Ranganiketan, the cultural arts troupe from Manipur, the “Lost Kingdom” in the northeastern corner of India, offered a diverse program at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Sunday.

Many, if not most, of the dances were infused with religious purpose, and most were shortened or excerpted for stage presentation.

A sampling of the rapt mysticism of the Manipuri people was evident in a duet for two priestesses (or maibi ), danced by Umarani Devi and N. Premita Devi. In their soft, swaying motions, gentle, circular movements and lyric, fluent hand gestures, the two women evoked an otherworldly calm, as well as demonstrating the basic Manipuri dance style for women.

Umarani Devi also appeared in a solo, “Dasa Avatar,” a dance drama set to a text from the “Gita Govinda” and depicting the 10 principal incarnations of Vishnu.

But the most formal, elegant and serene dance of this sort was a portion of the “Vasanta Ras,” which showed the god Krishna’s playful encounters with the adoring milkmaids ( gopis ).

Contrasting elements were provided in other works, with acrobatic drumming, folk and tribal dances and martial art displays ( thang-ta ).

In several dances for the drummers, men spun in place, turned on their knees or executed startling barrel turns in the air, all the while continuing to play the instrument, a double-headed drum.

In the invocational Pung Dance preceding “Vasanta Ras,” they did all this and also doffed their ceremonial white turbans with a single toss of their heads.

In a section of the “Lai Haraoba” folk dance, four men and four women progressed from slow, sinuous glides to faster movements that included a section of emphatic turns by the men balancing on one foot. The dance ended in a tug of war between the men and the women, with the women appearing to win by dragging off the men.

The mountain tribal dance, “Kabui Kit,” was distinguished by men wearing horns depicting cricket feelers and formal patterns between men and women that vaguely suggested square dancing.

In a display of martial arts prowess, Kiran Meitei whirled and flashed two long swords around and across his naked torso in a dance called “Leiteng Haiba.” He also fended off two antagonists and later engaged in a scimitar duel with Bobby Meitei, defending himself barehanded after his sword was deftly wrested from him.

Musical accompaniment was provided by a small group consisting of vocalist Mema Devi, flutist Vasanta Kumar Singh, drummer Binoban Singh and Krishna Chandra Sharma playing a bowed string instrument called the esaraj.