Manipur Rasa Leela dance is a kind of traditional Indian ballroom dance that originated from Manipur State in the northeast Indian state of Assam. This seductive dance comes with influences of West Bengali and Javanese arts. The Manipur Rasa Leela can be performed as a lively traditional dance, a hip hop dance or even a classical Indian theme dance. There are Manipur Rasa Leela classes in Manipur, India at studios such as the Dance Studio and the Heartbeat Dance Studio. One can also find many Manipur Rasa Leela exponents performing these dances in many events such as the World Dance Festival in Bikaner, Rajasthan and Udaipur, India.
As a Manipuri dancer, you will learn some of the dances as an entry level and then progress to complex moves and intricate leaps using a series of stepping and swaying movements. If you are not interested in learning the entire level, you can start by taking up just the basic steps which include the plait (a complex move using two legs and two arms), the shield (a figure-elegant move using three legs), the plait and the pirouette. You will be taught the basic steps as a Manipuri dance student but this will not help you further if you would like to learn advanced dancing styles such as the Manipuri Rasa Leela. Advanced dancing students often begin their training with the leela and master it before progressing to more difficult styles.
The best way to get started is to enroll in a Manipuri Rasa Leela class for beginners. The class will help you become familiar with the basic dance steps and choreography as well as meet like minded people who share similar dancing and non-dancing hobbies. The great thing about dancing is that you can dance your way to a fitness goal, improve your mental health and enjoy life.