The Jawaharlal Nehru Manipur Dance Academy, a constituent unit of the Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi, is the premier institution for teaching of Manipuri Dance and Music and allied subjects like Thang-Ta. Established in 1954, it offers comprehensive courses on the above subjects. The institution has on its staff teachers of eminence and a Production Unit with a large repertoire of dance-dramas. The management of the Academy is vested in the Executive Board of Sangeet Natak Akademi, New Delhi which is assisted by an Advisory Committee chaired by His Excellency, Governer of Manipur in matters of policy and maintenance of standards.

The courses offered at the Academy are
Foundation Course (3 years),
Diploma Course (3 years)
Post-Diploma Course (3 years).

Subjects
The subjects taught are Raas, Lai Haraoba, Nat-Sankirtan (Ishei), Nat-Sankirtan (Cholom), Nat-Sankirtan (Pung), Tribal Dance and Thang-ta (Foundation & Diploma Course only for the latter two).

The Academy encourages production of composition-dance and dance-dramas in providing a platform to the Gurus and the talented students for innovative creation of art forms. Eminent scholars and artistes from Manipur and outside deliver guest lectures on different subjects relating to art and culture, supplemented with demonstrations of their art.