[11] Owing to its huge influences on the diverse cultural heritages across the Indian subcontinent, it is recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi of the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India as one of the few primary classical dance forms of the Republic of India,[9] and is honoured with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Manipuri annually.

[13][14][15] It is imbued with the devotional themes of Madhura Raas of Radha-Krishna and characterised by gentle eyes and soft peaceful body movements.

It is a portrayal of the dance of divine love of Krishna with goddess Radha and the cowherd damsels of Vrindavan, famously known as the Raas Leela.

[22][23] It is accompanied with devotional music created with many instruments, with the beat set by cymbals (kartal or manjira) and double-headed drum (pung or Manipuri mrdanga) of sankirtan.

[24] The dance drama choreography shares the plays and stories of Vaishnavite Padavalis, that also inspired the major Gaudiya Vaishnava-related performance arts found in Assam and West Bengal.

[28] Theories about the antiquity of Manipuri Raas Leela dance rely on the oral tradition, archaeological discoveries and references about Manipur in Asian manuscripts whose date can be better established.

[28] The Meitei language text Bamon Khunthok, which literally means "Brahmin migration", states that Vaishnavism practices were adopted by the king of Manipur in the 15th century CE, arriving from Shan Kingdom of Pong.

[32][30] Rajarshi Bhagyachandra is also credited with starting public performances of Raas Leela and Manipuri dances in Hindu temples.

[33] In 1891, the British colonial government annexed Manipur into its Empire, marking an end to its golden era of creative systematization and expansion of Manipuri dance.

[34] The Manipuri Raas Leela dance was thereafter ridiculed as immoral, ignorant and old-fashioned, like all other classical Hindu performance arts.

[34] The classical Manipuri Raas Leela dance genre got a second life through the efforts of the Noble Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

He invited Guru Budhimantra Singh who had trained in Manipuri Raas Leela dance, as faculty to the Indian culture and studies center named Shantiniketan.

The dances are celebrated on full moon nights, three times in autumn (August through November) and once again in spring (March or April).

The plays and songs recited during the dance performance center around the love and frolics between Radha and Krishna, in the presence of Gopis named Lalita, Vishakha, Chitra, Champaklata, Tungavidya, Indurekha, Rangadevi and Sudevi.

[41] The dancer playing Krishna expresses emotions, while the body language and hand gestures of the Gopi display their feelings such as longing, dejection or cheer.

Dozens of boys synchronously dance the Gopa Ras, where they enact the chores of daily life such as feeding the cows.

In Uddhata Akanba, states Ragini Devi, the dance is full of vigor (jumps, squats, spins), energy and elegance.

The decorations on the barrel include gold and silver embroidery, small pieces of mirrors, and border prints of lotus, Kwaklei orchid, and other items in nature.

Manipuri dance artists wear kolu necklaces on the neck and adorn the face, back, waist, hands and legs with round jewellery ornaments or flower garlands that flow with the dress symmetry.

[46] The face is decorated with the sacred Gaudiya Vaishnava Tilak on the forehead and Gopi dots made of sandalwood above the eyebrows.

The male characters dress in a dhoti (also called dhotra or dhora) – a brilliantly colored broadcloth pleated, wrapped and tied at waist and allowing complete freedom of movement for the legs.

The Pung Cholom dancers wear white dhoti that covers the lower part of body from waist and a snow-white turban on the head.