Mitch Tambo takes the stage in revival of Burn the Floor

The 25th anniversary tour of ballroom spectacular Burn the Floor will include First Nations artists for the first time.

Mitch Tambo and the cast of Burn the Floor are ‘creating a spectacle that is world class and celebrating this nation’. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Nicki Connolly

Singer Mitch Tambo is not about to break into a tango, waltz or foxtrot, but he will soon take the stage in a high-energy show that promises an electrifying mix of ballroom, contemporary and ­Indigenous dance.

Tambo is the headline act in the 25th anniversary tour of Burn the Floor, the hit show that helped popularise ballroom dancing for modern audiences, and which for the first time will include First ­Nations artists.

“I’m here to blend First Nat­ions style into an incredible ballroom machine,” Tambo said.

“All my movements will be traditional style, maybe with a bit of a contemporary spin, but it’s all about an incredible collaborative experience.”

Tambo, 33, who has Gamilaraay (Kamilaroi) heritage, came to notice with his in-language version of You’re the Voice, a song he will sing in the show.

The east coast tour of Burn the Floor, opening at Crown Melbourne on Friday, also features Tambo’s wife, singer Lea Firth, former Bangarra dancer Albert David, and a cast of modern ballroom dancers.

Producer Harley Medcalf said he hit on the idea of a ballroom show when he attended Elton John’s 50th birthday in 1997, where guests were entertained by a company of dazzling ballroom dancers.

The first performance of Burn the Floor was in Britain’s Bournemouth in 1999, and the show has since played on Broadway and the West End and completed 11 tours of Japan.

Burn the Floor coincided with the revival of popular interest in ballroom dancing in the 1990s with Baz Luhrmann’s Strictly Ballroom, and in more recent years with Dancing with the Stars on TV.

To mark the quarter-century since the show’s inception, Medcalf wanted an updated performance that celebrated the diversity of Australian talent. It has been choreographed by former world ballroom champions Peta Roby and Jason Gilkison.

“This is the first time we have had First Nations performers on stage with us,” Medcalf said.

“Mitch is a dancer, a didgeridoo player, he sings like an angel, and when he brings his team into the ballroom world, I can’t believe it. It’s going to blow the mind of the audience.”

Tambo said the inclusion of Indigenous artists was not about ticking a diversity box. “It’s … creating a spectacle that is world class and celebrating this nation,”