The significance of pulling on the yellow skivvy and stepping into the "very big boots" of departing Yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins is not lost on Tsehay Hawkins.
Key points:
- 15-year-old Tsehay Hawkins replaces Emma Watkins as the Yellow Wiggle
- The Ethiopian-born Wiggle credits her "completely supportive" parents for her success
- She hopes to represent culturally diverse children worldwide
"It's incredible. It's amazing. Little me would have been absolutely over the moon," the 15-year-old said.
"I've always dreamed of performing on stage, and making kids happy and inspiring them is just a big plus on top."
The first female Wiggle on Tuesday confirmed she will leave the band by the end of the year to be closer to family and focus on her post-graduate studies.
She will be replaced by Ms Hawkins, who was one of the four new diverse cast members announced in August.
"She's really inspired kids our age," Ms Hawkins said.
Born in Ethiopia, Ms Hawkins was adopted by Australian parents Robyn and Reg Hawkins at seven months old.
Her wish for a little brother saw the family travel to Colombia to adopt now 10-year-old Kendly.
Through Kendley's lineage, Ms Hawkins discovered her love for Latin dance — in particular, a style called Cumbia.
"When we came back home, I was like 'oh my God, I want to start that', so we found a little studio in Sydney and then I found a teacher who really knew the fundamentals." Ms Hawkins said.
"About a year after that, I won my Latin dance titles."
The decorated dancer won four Latin dance titles this year, becoming the World Amateur Ladies Salsa and Urban Latin Champion.
Parents 'guide me through everything'
Often, behind every successful young dancer are their dedicated parents.
Ms Hawkins said her parents are "completely supportive", balancing work commitments to ensure she had "all the opportunities" to succeed in dance.
"Even though they have work, they drive me everywhere and are happy to do it. They're just happy to see me progress in my passion," Ms Hawkins said.
"I'm an extremely indecisive person and they guide me through everything."
As a young Ethiopian woman, Ms Hawkins said her parents were also determined to see her connect with her culture and find a sense of community in Australia.
"With adoption, sometimes people feel like culture-wise, you might not associate with it as much," Ms Hawkins said.
"But my parents were the complete opposite. As soon as I came back and started dancing, I went to cultural lessons, festivals and I mingled with all the kids who were adopted.
"I found my passion for my culture there, and I'd like to incorporate all different styles — and embrace multiculturalism — through The Wiggles."
Ms Hawkins studies via distance education but said her new appointment has been celebrated by her school peers.
"Everyone's like, 'does that mean you get to sing Hot Potato?' they're all very happy for me, so it's great."
Representing diversity around the world
Ms Hawkins said she wants to build on The Wiggles' work to embrace multiculturalism and be a familiar face for young fans around the world.
"When you're little, you just see dancing, music, lights, singing and you think, 'woah, it's The Wiggles."
"But when kids see someone they identify with, they think 'oh woah, she looks like me, she's doing that, I can do that.
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIxLTEwLTE5L21lZXQtbmV3LXllbGxvdy13aWdnbGUtdHNlaGF5LWhhd2tpbnMtcmVwbGFjaW5nLWVtbWEtd2F0a2lucy8xMDA1NTExODTSAShodHRwczovL2FtcC5hYmMubmV0LmF1L2FydGljbGUvMTAwNTUxMTg0?oc=5
2021-10-19 07:21:10Z
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