Joyonti Samantha: Breathing new life into Manipuri dance
Sabira Manir
Manipuri dance to many is a dance form wearing a Poloi (a common costume used in this genre). But to those well versed in it, there is far more to the term. In fact, the dance has various styles, which have long been practised in India. Over the last few years, these various styles have spread out in Bangladesh through the efforts of practitioners who learned the proper dance form in India.The original Manipuri influence is evident in the style of upcoming danseuse Joyonti Samantha. Having studied this dance form with Tamanna Rahman, who was trained in India, her mission is to popularise this dance form in Bangladesh. And she is well qualified to do so. Having been raised in a cultural family, Joyonti started her dance lessons at the cultural organisation Khelaghar when she was only five. Soon after, as a member of Khelaghar, she visited Russia and performed a solo dance. There she won praise from the audience. Two years later, she gained admission to Chhayanaut. Her teachers were Tamanna Rahman, Sharmila Bandhopadhyay and Belayet Husain Khan. 'I did not continue the course at Chhayanaut as it hampered my studies. But soon I decided to take private lessons in Manipuri dance from Tamanna Rahman, as I had developed a fascination for the particular dance form,' says Joyonti. As a trainee, she did a workshop with Monipuri Ojha (maestro) Mokam Thaiba Singha, who was visiting Bangladesh. 'I learnt the Manipuri dance style Chalam and also learnt to play the Manipuri instrument Mridang which is essential for Manipuri dance from the Ojha,' says Joyonti. Besides this, Joyonti has done a workshop with Kalavati Devi, a Manipuri dance teacher of Rabindra Bharati University of India. She learnt two styles--Tandab (signifying boldness) and Lashya (sensual mood)--from Kalavati. 'I had initially learnt these styles from Tamanna Rahman and then continued to train under Kalavati Devi,' says Joyonti. Joyonti also attended a workshop of Gouriya dance conducted by Mahuya Mukherjee, a professor of Rabindra Bharati University and an Indian dance researcher. 'During the workshop I discovered that the roots of Gauriya dance are embedded in our culture. I came to know that the dances we practise--like Manipuri, Odissi and Bharat Natyam are a part of Gauriya genre,' says Joyonti. An assistant teacher of the dance school Nrittam, Jayonti won a gold medal twice for Manipuri dance in 1999 and 2000. She was the first Manipuri dancer to achieve this award at the national level. She has so far performed in London and various states of India like Tripura, Assam and West Bengal. Joyonti is an enlisted performer of BTV. 'However, I have not had a chance to perform on the channel because of some bottlenecks. This attitude is frustrating,' says Joyonti. Although dance is now a passion with Joyonti, she wants to extend her knowledge of Manipuri dance. Which is good news for dance aficionados.
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