Djuki Mala – formerly known as The Chooky Dancers – were well known for having the last dance at their local disco on the basketball courts on Echo Island.

It was their hilarious rendition to Zorba the Greek that led them to stages across Australia, in China and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Artistic director of the group Joshua Bond was there from the beginning, his grandfather the one who uploaded the dance to YouTube.

“I don’t think any of us expected that little YouTube clip would take us so far,” Bond said. “That’s no mean feat for any small company, let alone a little company from the bush like ours being so far remote on Elcho Island.”

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The group is bringing their latest show – a retrospective of their career – to the Wollongong Spiegeltent on April 13 to 15. Expect traditional dancing mixed with umbrellas, techno music and singing in the rain.

“It challenges that western anthropological view of Indigenous Australia and places it very firmly in the 21^st century – through the cultural mashup of traditional dance mixed with these contemporary pop-culture genres whether it be Bollywood or Zorba the Greek or hip-hop or Motown it kind of traverses the ages,” Bond said.

“And the vehicle is the humour, it’s the key.”

Elcho Island is the largest and most remote Indigenous community in northeast Arnhem Land, about 550 km northeast of Darwin. Culture and ancient traditions of First Nation peoples are still “alive”, handed down from generation to generation.

“It’s not in a museum, culture is alive and breathing and living and ever changing, as does the world around us,” Bond said.

Djuki Mala, Wollongong Spiegeltent from April 13 - 15. Tickets via www.merrigong.com.au 

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