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It is an unlikely fusion of cultures from opposite sides of the world, but an Aboriginal version of the classic dance from Zorba The Greek has become a sensation on video-sharing website YouTube.
The dance was performed by a group of 10 barefoot Aborigines wearing loin cloths and ceremonial white body paint.
It was watched by a small audience at an indigenous festival in the Northern Territory last month, but since being posted on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v =O-MucVWo-Pw) a week ago, it has been viewed by a worldwide audience of nearly 100,000.
'It's just amazing,' dance organiser Frank Djirrimbilpilwuy,  56, said   yesterday.  'We can't believe it's become so popular.'
The dance has only ever been performed in Arnhem Land,  a vast Aboriginal-owned region of the Northern Territory, but invitations are now flooding in from around Australia.
The indigenous performers -  called the Chooky Dancers - have been asked to appear at a Greek cultural festival in Darwin as well as at Queensland and Canberra festivals.
'It would be great to perform it in front of bigger audiences,' Mr Djirrimbilpilwuy,  who filmed the performance, said.
'It's more up tempo than the original Zorba The Greek dance. Crowds always love it, but we had no idea it would become a smash hit.'
The clip had reportedly been shown on the Greek island of Kastelorizo,  where it was projected on a large screen in a town square in front of an impressive crowd.
The Chooky boys have also choreographed an Aboriginal-style Bollywood dance.
The idea for the strange entwining of dancing styles came from Mr Djirrimbilpilwuy's 19-year-old son Lionel, who had listened to his father's tape cassette of the music from Zorba The Greek, the 1964 film starring Anthony Quinn.
The dancers all come from Elcho Island,  off the coast of Arnhem Land, where Aborigines still hunt traditional 'bush tucker' such as mud crabs, turtles and dugongs.
There are few jobs, and keeping alive traditions is seen as vital in staving off boredom, alcoholism, drug abuse and all the other social problems which blight so many Aboriginal settlements.



Aboriginal Zorba a YouTube hit