October 17, 2008

Cross-culturalism set to music!

This is the first post I've made purely to share a link, but despite all the financial doom and gloom, this will put a smile on anyone's face:



The video was taken at a local festival in a remote area of northern Australia, and to quote from an ABC news item when it was published in October 2007, 
"A group of traditional dancers from Arnhem Land has become a sudden smash hit on the internet, with their unique interpretation of Zorba the Greek.

The 10 Yolngu dancers on Elcho Island have decided that dancing is the ideal antidote to unemployment.
Their Zorba dance has gone around the world, and even been screened in a public square in Greece.
The offers are now coming in for the group to perform at music festivals.

They are called the Chooky Dancers, a group of young men and boys from Elcho Island, and their interpretation of the Greek Zorba is taking the internet world by storm."
Since then, they have even performed on a televised talent show and at the normally staid Art Gallery of NSW (although I notice they were more decorously dressed for that appearance).  Apparently there is also an invitation to perform in Greece, where the video has proved very popular, confirming that weighty subjects like international relations and indigenous culture can be light-hearted too.

Trivia: Elcho Island was the inspiration for a very popular mainstream song a few years ago, called "My Island Home", which was sung by Christine Anu at the closing ceremony of the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is the second cultural "eye opener" that i have enjoyed today.

A very appealing clip, unusual and a somewhat, unexpected type of performance.

The other was hearing a new indigenious singer. I'm afraid I didnt catch his name, I only heard the song and a mention by the DJ, that he is blind. The DJ also mentioned that he was a rising star, soon to be famous.

I trust that he will recieve support when he does become famous because sadly, too many of our "indigenious stars" are cast aside when the popularity drops.

I wish him well.

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