The Wiggles Tsehay Hawkins shares how she’s felt about pulling on the yellow skivvy

When teenager Tsehay Hawkins was asked to pull on the yellow skivvy as part of The Wiggles new line-up, it was the perfect fit. Hawkins is not only sunny by nature but the Ethiopian-born performer’s name (pronounced se-hi) means “the sun” in Amharic. So there was clearly no better colour for the 16-year-old to take over when joining the children’s entertainment group last year. While the band began all the way back in 1991, more than a decade before Hawkins was even born, like many other kids around the world, she grew up playing The Wiggles on loop. “I remember listening to their songs on repeat and really loved Can You (Point Your Fingers And Do The Twist?) and Rock-A-Bye Your Bear and would dance to them all around the house,” she recalls. But Hawkins never could have imagined one day she would actually be part of the line-up herself. “I just always thought it was the four guys (founding members Anthony Field, Murray Cook, Jeff Fatt and Greg Page) so I never even knew I could work with them until I was invited to.” Back in 2012, The Wiggles shook up the group, with the exit of long-time members Cook, Fatt and Page, who were replaced by Simon Pryce, Lachlan Gillespie, and for the first time a female member — Emma Watkins. Then at the start of last year, to commemorate its 30th anniversary, the band released We’re All Fruit Salad, a song which celebrated unity and acceptance and featured guest performers of different cultural backgrounds. It was followed by the launch of Fruit Salad TV in August. Written by Field, the YouTube series features the catchy music the band has become beloved for, but also introduced new cast members that would “better represent today’s Australia”. As Field put it, “The Wiggles were created during a time when early childhood educational concepts were the focus”, but that “as society has evolved, we have embraced the need for diversity and inclusiveness and want children all over the world to see themselves reflected on the screen”. It was as part of this project that Hawkins initially joined the team, alongside Taribelang woman Evie Ferris, John Pearce, of Filipino descent and Kelly Hamilton, of Chinese/Australian background. At the same time new characters were also added — non-binary Officer Beaples, Shirley Shawn the Unicorn and Bok the hand puppet. “Fruit Salad TV was an amazing experience. I had to do talking and presenting, not just dancing along. I was a bit scared about the singing but loved it once we started,” Hawkins says. But then in October Watkins made the shock announcement that she was hanging up the yellow skivvy after more than a decade. Hawkins was then asked to step up. “It came out of nowhere but how could I say no,” she laughs. “It was the best news ever and my whole family were amazed too — admittedly my mum was crying.” Although still in high school — she attends a full-time dance school and studies by distance education — this career move had been a long time coming. At just two years of age, Hawkins started ballet, jazz and tap dancing classes, before later jumping into hip hop and contemporary styles. “As soon as I could start walking I could dance and I found my love of performing,” she explains. Adopted by Australian parents, Hawkins was raised in the town of Bargo in New South Wales. As a way to connect their daughter with her culture, parents Reg and Robyn would take her to different cultural festivals, where she was introduced to West African dance styles. The addition of little brother Kendly, who was born in Colombia, to the family also sparked her interest in South American dance styles. A family visit to his birth country also saw her captivated by cumbia dancers. “When we went there and I saw this dance style and they had beautiful dresses and it was so stunning and I fell in love with it,” she says. “When we went back to Sydney I asked mum to do it and we found a studio that taught it so we went there.” Since then Hawkins has won eleven Australian titles and four World titles in Latin and commercial dance and is the current Australian and World Youth Ladies Salsa and Urban Latin Champion and the current World Amateur Ladies Salsa and Urban Latin Champion. Despite her talent, she admits she was still nervous when it came to taking over the yellow skivvy. “I feel very blessed that I have been given this opportunity,” she says. “I always looked up to Greg when I was little and when Emma joined she created such a profile. “The Wiggles had never changed before but the response she got was amazing. When I started as a Wiggly dancer all I could see in the audience was a sea of bows.” It was seeing the embrace of others who had helped shake up the group which gave Hawkins the confidence boost to get up on stage in front of the adoring fans. “Emma was such an inspiration and I felt like if she could step in and do it, so could I,” she says. “I was a bit worried about what my response would be but so far it has been a really lovely one.” In the months since joining the main group, Hawkins has performed at not only kid’s shows, but Carols in the Domain and Mardi Gras in Sydney. Next weekend the band will also perform six shows in WA. “Every day has been a completely different journey and I have done so many amazing things so far,” she says. While kick-starting a career while still balancing schoolwork may seem ambitious, Hawkins says not much has changed. “I was already working online and studying by correspondence, so I’ve just been continuing to do that,” she says. While her age means one of her parents must be with her on tour, she says they have embraced being part of the entourage of one of the most popular bands in the world. “Their support amounted to me achieving this and now helping other people,” she says. “Performing arts has always been my passion and the fact I can do that and inspire little kids is an amazing opportunity.” Being a role model is a responsibility not lost on her, despite the fact she is still a teenager. She wants young fans to be comfortable embracing who they are, and is already so articulate on how she wants to play a part. “When I was little I didn’t notice there weren’t any people that looked like me on TV, but when there was I would notice and get so excited,” she says. “The world is starting to accept change and is noticing we need to be more accepting for everyone. “The fact that I get to help be a part of that stepping stone and a person of colour and a girl as well means the world.” While many kids grow out of bands once they hit a certain age, The Wiggles have also managed to keep their fans on board for decades after. Not only are their original followers now bringing their own children to concerts, the band took out the millennial favourite’s Triple J’s Hottest 100 this year with a cover of Tame Impala’s Elephant. Their recently released ReWiggled album — which sees them covering other artists, while contemporary Australian artists have also reimagined their greatest hits — debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, becoming the Wiggles’ first number-one album in Australia. Local artists including San Cisco, Spacey Jane and Stella Donnelly cover songs H.O.L.I.D.A.Y, D.O.R.O.T.H.Y and Ba Ba Da Bicycle Ride, while The Wiggles take on Bohemian Rhapsody, Thunderstruck and Praise You. The original members are also about to head off on a country-wide tour to perform a string of shows for fans aged over 15. The nostalgic tour has been a hit with fans of the original four. Hawkins has an idea why this might be. “I guess it is because they have stayed true to their message. They’ve always been about not only educating kids and making kids feel good about themselves and they evolved with people as they grew,” she says. “Although there is always a new generation watching them they’ve made sure people know they are for everyone.” With current concert-goers not that much younger than herself, Hawkins has embraced the chance to go along for the whirlwind ride— in the Big Red Car of course. “Seeing their faces light up and jumping around and having the best time is so wonderful,” she says. “There was a 12-year-old at a concert recently and she told me she also wanted to be a Wiggle when she grows up. It’s pretty cool we are not only for little kids but teenagers too” “I can’t wait to get out and travel the world. Any opportunity that comes up I will embrace it all. My job is the best.” The Wiggles’ Fruit Salad Big TV Show tour will be in Perth next weekend, with four shows on April 9 and 10, at RAC Arena. They will also be performing two shows at the Kalgoorlie Goldfields Art Centre on April 11. The OG Wiggles Reunion Tour is also on at RAC Arena on April 9. Tickets available from thewiggles.com. ReWiggled is out now.