Iconic Manipuri folk artist Mangka Mayanglambam will be going on a tour to Switzerland and France from 11 to 18 April 2023. Mangka, from Laihui Ensemble, will be accompanied by her father Oja Mangangsana Mayanglambam, an artistic director at Laihui, who will provide musical and vocal support.
MaolKeki Foundation, in a release, said that Mangka will perform at three locations in Switzerland and two in France, and the tour will include a collaborative session with Enrico Lenzin, a well-known Swiss Alphorn player, and Angela Sofia Sterzer, a Franco-German artist who teaches Manipuri dance in Paris. Nirupa Sanjenbam, Head of Projects at the MaolKeki Foundation, will provide management support during the tour which is designed to raise awareness of Manipur and Manipuri arts and culture.
This will be the first collaboration between Manipuri and Swiss artists to create a unique form of music from the Pena, a single-stringed traditional Manipuri instrument, and the Alphorn, a traditional Swiss wind instrument.
The highlights of the tour will be a performance at the India Day Event in Riehen, Basel Stadt, Switzerland, on 15 April 2023 and another one at the Caveau du Café littéraire, Saint Louis, France, on 14 April 2023 both of which are open to the public. Other sessions are invitation-only and include a workshop at the Swiss TPH, Allschwil, Switzerland, a Masterclass at the Conservatoire de Musique et de Danse, Saint Louis, France, and a function in Bern, Switzerland.
The tour has been kindly supported and enabled by various entities namely, the Government of Manipur, Manipur State Tourism Department, the European Manipuri Association, the Association of Friends of India Basel, Riehen Lebenskultur, Swisslos- Fonds Basel-Stadt, MaolKeki Foundation and BalmeticaTM: Swiss Made Physiotherapy Cream.
It may be mentioned that MaolKeki Foundation is a pioneering organization established with the purpose of catalysing positive development in Manipur, India. The Foundation is registered under the Indian Trusts Act, 1882, and more information can be found at http://www.maolkekifoundation.org.
