A few flashes amid subtle steps

Two moments stood out during a long 90-minute program from the Anjika Manipuri Dance Troupe at the Irvine Barclay Theatre on Tuesday night.

One was impressively martial -- a sword-swiveling solo by Imocha Singh, in which he wielded two flashing blades very close to his bare torso, so that they shimmered like hummingbird’s wings. The other was a softly lyrical opening dance by company director Priti Patel, along with Karuna Devi and Bhani Devi. Here, the contrast between classical dance from Manipur, a state in northeast India, and the more familiar bharata natyam and kathak, became clear. Manipuri dance offers no percussive footwork, dynamic technique or detailed mime, just a kind of soft stepping, gentle turning and, above all, floating hands that described ovals or arcs in the air.

Other sections in the program, called “The Music, Dance and Martial Arts of Manipur, India,” featured repetitive drumming, with an occasional circle of knee turns or barrel turns, and a few stretched-out dance-drama scenes that may have failed to connect with observers not steeped in tales of Krishna and myths of Manipur. Without this kind of cultural competence, Krishna’s subtle hand-wavingor the tilting and bobbing of milkmaids, can seem like a closed door to which one doesn’t have a key.