Lai Haroba is the most significant ritual festival of Manipur and is celebrated in honour of the gods and goddesses in various shrines. The dance of Lai Haroba depicts the tale of man, birth, youth, marriage, arts and learning. Performed during spring, Lai-Haroba portrays both nritta and abhinaya. The following are the twelve divisions of Lai Haroba:

First type of Lai Haroba Dance
The very first type of performance known as Leikoba is performed by the male and female dancers. In it, they worship gods and invoke their souls to appear and take divine forms. This dance is performed on the very first day.

Second type of Lai Haroba Dance
The second type of dance known as Hailava depicts the joy and ecstasy of the Great Guru Sidaba during the time he began his creation.

Third type of Lai Haroba Dance
The third type of dance pattern is known as `Aman-Athou-Kofaya`. This form of dance is considered as an outburst of happiness of the male and female dancers who worship the god. The outbreak of happiness occurs upon witnessing the divine forms that result from the invocation of their souls.

Fourth type of Lai Haroba Dance
The fourth type of Lai Haroba dance depicts the Great Guru sending a goddess to a dangerous place during the time of creation. This part of the dance is performed by a female worshipper or dancer.

Fifth Part of the Lai Haroba Dance
The fifth part of the Lai Haroba dance is executed by a group of female dancers. This episode depicts Sidaba requesting his guru to create the Universe. His guru declines his wish as he considers himself to be incapable of doing so. This makes Sidaba angry.

Sixth type of Lai Haroba Dance
The sixth type is performed by a group of male dancers. This episode attaches some special and concrete form to Sidaba`s creation.

Seventh type of Lai Haroba
The seventh form of dancing is a form of humorous dance. It deals with the exchange of fun, pranks played and merry making among different gods and goddesses.

Eighth type of Lai Haroba Dance
The eighth type of Lai Haroba dance is Herabo. This type of dance is considered as the most difficult and strenuous for the dancers to perform. Herabo dance is characterised by stylised techniques and intricate body movements. Even the movements of the hands and gestures are complicated. There is a general belief among the performers that if there is any slip in the movements while dancing then along with the performers the whole universe might get cursed by god. The Herabo dance is performed to commemorate the occasion when the Great Guru conceived the idea of his creation.

Ninth type of Lai Haroba Dance
The ninth type of Lai Haroba dancing is called as `Lebao`. In this form of dancing, the grace and beauty of an anatomical dancing body is portrayed. It is beautifully described by appropriate gestures, expressions and movements of the body.

Tenth type of Lai Haroba Dance
The tenth type of Lai Haroba dance is known as `Phangarel`. This episode exhibits a common man`s family life. A man when he enters into his daily routine life requires `Phanga` meaning fire. Hence with the help of fire, a man as a social being is depicted in this particular type of dance.

Eleventh type of Lai Haroba Dance
The eleventh form of Lai Haroba dance is `Ugri (history) Hanjen` which depicts the history of mankind.

Twelfth type of Lai Haroba Dance
The twelfth and the finale form of Lai Haroba dance is called `Leren Mathek` meaning zig zag way of a snake. The gestures and movements in this type of dance resemble the zig zag movement of a snake.

The complete execution of the twelve parts of Lai Haroba dance takes about fifteen days to perform. There are few notable Karanas (body postures) of Lai Harobasuch as Loima Jagoi, Loitai Jagoi, Lenet Jagoi, Tekhen Jagoi, Moirarg Jagoi etc. Augri Hansel is also another type of Lai Haroba dance which is enacted as a popular folk-dance as Kekrekek and Tbabal Songbi, during the Doljatra.