the BallPark goes to Iceland

i give a talk

I was asked by Olafur, the school teacher, to give a talk to his class of 15 year olds so they could hear an Australian accent. I spoke a little about my artwork and also about Australia in general. I finished with a clip of the chooky dancers, a group of indigenous dancers who became a big hit when their youtube video of their performance went viral.

Aboriginal interpretation of Zorba the Greek.
Frank Djirrimbilpilwuy from Milingimbi has been in the Indigenous Media Industry for many years and has been a long-standing member and supporter of the Top End Aboriginal Bush Broadcasting Association, TEABBA Radio. He has worked Independently in Music and Film for many years also.
As the man behind the camera and release of the video, Frank is also representing the dance group who call themselves “The Chooky Dancers”. Frank has said that he filmed the footage at this years Ramingining Festival on the 30th September 2007 and knew it would be “something special” as soon as he saw the boys rehearsing. “The crowd went wild as you can see in the video, and the classic song Zorba the Greek has now become a hit overnight in the communities and now it seems, everywhere else too” Frank said.

The Chooky Dancers are a group of 10 energetic young men who had healthy living in mind when they choreographed the performance. Franks son Lionel is the lead dancer in the video footage at front and center. “They (the Chooky Dancers) begun working on this just after this years Garma Festival in Gukula and worked very hard on it, they also do a Bollywood style performance which is also fantastic” Frank said.

Opið hús í Nesi Listamiðstöð went well

Thanks to Olafía for the pics.