Tsehay Hawkins

Tsehay Hawkins
Hawkins in 2022
Hawkins in 2022
Background information
Born (2005-11-15) 15 November 2005 (age 18)
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
OriginBargo, New South Wales, Australia
GenresChildren's, Latin
OccupationsDancer, singer
Years active2017–present
LabelsABC Music
Member ofThe Wiggles

Tsehay Hawkins (/səˈhaɪ/, suh-HYE; born 15 November 2005) is an Australian dancer and singer, best known as a member of the Wiggles. She was the second female to be a member of the group and is the first member of African heritage, as well as the youngest to have ever joined, joining at age sixteen.

Early life

Tsehay[1][2] Hawkins was born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia,[3] on 15 November 2005.[citation needed] She was adopted and raised by Australian parents, Robyn and Reg Hawkins, when she was 5 months old and raised in Bargo, 95 kilometres (59 mi) south-west of Sydney.[3][4] From two years old, Hawkins started taking ballet, tap and jazz dance lessons and later followed with Ethiopian and West African styles.[1][5] Her family also adopted a child from Colombia in 2012,[3] as Hawkins wished for a younger sibling.[4] After her sibling's adoption, Hawkins took cumbia dance lessons in Sydney and expanded her repertoire to salsa and urban Latin dance styles.[1][4] As of October 2021, she was attending secondary school in Campbelltown.[6]

Early career

Hawkins won a national dance competition in January 2017.[5][7] She appeared on Australian variety TV show, Little Big Shots in 2018 as an African fusion dancer.[5] At the 2019 World Salsa championships she won Youth Salsa Soloist, Youth Mixed Latin Soloist, and Youth/Adult Mixed Latin Couples & Duets (partnered with Oliver Pineda).[8] In early 2021, Hawkins won the World Amateur Ladies Salsa and Urban Latin Championship.[2] She has won four world titles in Latin and commercial dance.[9][10]

The Wiggles

Hawkins became an auxiliary member of the Wiggles' Fruit Salad TV YouTube series in August 2021 alongside Evie Ferris (blue), Kelly Hamilton (yellow) and John Pearce (purple).[11][12] Anthony Field eventually hired the auxiliary members, thinking "children who are watching the show today come from culturally diverse families, so [he] wanted the Wiggles to reflect their audience."[13] In October of that year, yellow Wiggle Emma Watkins announced that she was retiring from the Wiggles at the end of the year.

Hawkins took Watkins' role as the yellow Wiggle in 2022. At age 16, Hawkins surpassed Greg Page (age 19) as the youngest person to join the Wiggles.[14][15]

Personal life

Hawkins resides with her family in Bargo, New South Wales.[16]

Awards

While the group were in hiatus from live performances, Hawkins, with the Wiggles members, presented the Best Australian Live Act trophy at the 2021 ARIA Music Awards.[17]

Discography

Main article: The Wiggles discography

References

  1. ^ a b c Blake, Elissa (22 October 2021). "New Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins: 'If I can show kids how to be natural, that would mean the world to me' | Children's TV". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 November 2021. Hawkins (who turns 16 in November) will require a chaperone
  2. ^ a b Talbot, Louise (24 August 2021). "The Wiggles help save a life as lineup grows to eight". thenewdaily.com.au. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ a b c Brandle, Lars (19 October 2021). "Emma Watkins, First Female Wiggle, Says Good-Bye". Billboard. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  4. ^ a b c Doyle, Michael; Maykin, Melissa (20 October 2021). "Meet Tsehay Hawkins, 15-year-old Latin dance star replacing Emma Watkins as Yellow Wiggle". ABC News. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Tadias staff (7 September 2018). "Incredible 12-Year-Old Dancer Tsehay Hawkins Featured on Little Big Shots TV". Tadias Magazine. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  6. ^ Moran, Robert (19 October 2021). "Emma Wiggle quits: Tsehay Hawkins becomes new Yellow Wiggle". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 19 October 2021. Retrieved 18 November 2021.
  7. ^ Elmerhebe, Tarik (15 February 2017). "Tsehay wows crowd and trumps competition in Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler's Australian tour | News Local". Macarthur Chronicle Wollondilly, The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "Results 2019". Salsa Solo. Archived from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2021.
  9. ^ Bain, Cassandra (19 October 2021). "Meet Tsehay Hawkins: the teenager taking over as the Yellow Wiggle". SBS. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  10. ^ Weaver, Jackson (3 November 2021). "Joining the Wiggles is 'dream come true' for teen dance star Tsehay Hawkins". msn.com. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  11. ^ Lyons, Erin (22 August 2021). "Four new members to join The Wiggles in a nod to cultural diversity". News.com.au. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  12. ^ Motherwell, Sarah (28 August 2021). "The moment blue Wiggle Anthony Field realized the band had to change". ABC News. Archived from the original on 28 August 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ Buttigieg, Mel (23 August 2021). "'Woke Wiggles': it's not just Jeff who needs to wake up". The Age. Archived from the original on 24 August 2021. Retrieved 17 November 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ Goodall, Hamish (19 October 2021). "Tsehay Hawkins to replace Emma Watkins in the Wiggles". 7NEWS. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  15. ^ Young, Savanna (19 October 2021). "Who is Tsehay Hawkins? Emma Watkins' replacement as the new Yellow Wiggle". nine.com.au. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  16. ^ Layt, Jess (20 October 2021). "Meet the new Yellow Wiggle, Tsehay Hawkins". Northern Beaches Review. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
  17. ^ ARIA (24 November 2021). "2021 ARIA Awards in partnership with YouTube Music". YouTube. Retrieved 25 November 2021.