Yamuna Sangarasivam | Odissi Dancer - Michael Jackson's Black & White | Vox Populi

Festember is thrilled to kick off the Vox Populi series of guest lectures for the year with the exuberant Yamuna Sangarasivam! An accomplished Odissi dancer, she made headlines as she matched steps with the King of Pop himself in one of his most popular music videos.

Born and brought up in Sri Lanka, Yamuna picked up the arts of Bharatanatyam, western classical piano and Tamil carnatic voice growing up. Her mastery of the traditional Indian dance form Odissi landed her the golden opportunity to perform a duet alongside the legendary Michael Jackson in his hit MV, “Black or White”. With a doctorate in anthropology, she is currently serving as the Director of the Women and Gender Studies Undergraduate Program in Sociology and Anthropology at the Nazareth College in the USA.

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[jonathanvijongarth]

I can see why she got selected for the video. Apart from her obvious talent, she has a very sweet way about.

It's also intriguing to see how excited she still is about talking about her experience with MJ music video.

[sachinthamadushan-iduv]

We lost so many talented Tamil people because of 30 years shitii war I don't expected any that kind of in the future. Love from Sri Lanka

[mauricemoultrie]

She is very brillant . Love ber story about MJ and her other personal achievements

[ifallthingsmatter]

What a lovely woman Yamuna is. She is so lucky to have performed with the wonderful King of Pop. Thank you for sharing your story with us. R.I.P King❤

[chrisbean]

I really loved the indian dance in Black/White. I always wondered who she was. It's incredible that thanks to technology we are able to see people we thought we wd never know who they were.

[gowthamram]

So emotional. I was googling who she was. Lucky that I saw this video. Good job guys. #MJ

[lifeofmiles]

Mj was My childhood

That lady was on dance ( Yamuna ) wat an exquisite dance and elegance dancer

[maranmicro]

Yamuna has a gracious smile, so nice to see her! Thank you Festember guys for such a nice interview!

[vigneshwaranms]

Thank you NIT Trichy for doing this interview ❤

[thusithawagalawatta]

Respect you Madam and proud to read you as Sri Lankan...

[belzylucas]

She was beautiful and she still beautiful lady 💚💚

[dhireshwarswami]

That was Dance of the decade in pop industry by mj with kathakali

[apontutul]

Thanks for sharing this, iconic woman for 90s teenagers

[TonyTigerTonyTiger]

Love the Michael Jackson video and all the various dances. But her dancing stood out to me. When I watch the video, I always watch her part several times. I don't know how to put into words what I liked about. Part of what I like was several subtle movements, which I can't describe. Again, I can't nail down what it is I liked so much about her short 20-second dance, but it was fantastic.

Had to come back because another thing I liked just dawned on me. GRACEFUL. The dance was so graceful.

A few more. Elegant. Disciplined. Classy.

[dpaint]

Both of you are beautiful 👑💜🥰 & she is STILL BEAUTIFUL 😍

[mauricemoultrie]

Wow really loved this interview. Both individuals are great❤

[yashodhafernando]

She's name is yamuna sangarasivam and she is Sri Lankan🇱🇰