Tsehay Hawkins Explained

Tsehay Hawkins
Birth Date:15 November 2005
Birth Place:Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Origin:Bargo, New South Wales, Australia
Genre:Children's, Latin
Occupations:Dancer, singer
Years Active:2017–present
Label:ABC Music
Current Member Of:The Wiggles

Tsehay Hawkins (; 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. She was adopted and raised by Australian parents, Robyn and Reg Hawkins, when she was 5 months old and raised in Bargo, 95km (59miles) south-west of Sydney.[3] From two years old, Hawkins started taking ballet, tap and jazz dance lessons and later followed with Ethiopian and West African styles.[1] 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.[5]

Early career

Hawkins won a national dance competition in January 2017.[6] [7] She appeared on Australian variety TV show, Little Big Shots in 2018 as an African fusion dancer.[6] 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] Because of her age, Hawkins is chaperoned when touring with the Wiggles and was continuing her education via Distance Education online in 2022.[1]

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

See main article: articles and The Wiggles discography.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: New Yellow Wiggle Tsehay Hawkins: 'If I can show kids how to be natural, that would mean the world to me' Children's TV . Blake . Elissa . . 22 October 2021 . 17 November 2021 . Hawkins (who turns 16 in November) will require a chaperone.
  2. Web site: The Wiggles help save a life as lineup grows to eight . Talbot . Louise . thenewdaily.com.au . 24 August 2021 . National Library of Australia . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20210908162757/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/186162/20210909-0000/thenewdaily.com.au/entertainment/2021/08/23/the-wiggles-rescue/amp/index.html . 8 September 2021 . 17 November 2021 .
  3. Emma Watkins, First Female Wiggle, Says Good-Bye . Brandle . Lars . . 19 October 2021 . 17 November 2021 .
  4. News: Doyle . Michael . Maykin . Melissa . Meet Tsehay Hawkins, 15-year-old Latin dance star replacing Emma Watkins as Yellow Wiggle . ABC News . 17 November 2021 . 20 October 2021 .
  5. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20211019042305/https://www.smh.com.au/culture/music/meet-tsehay-hawkins-the-teenager-who-s-the-new-yellow-wiggle-20211019-p591as.html . Emma Wiggle quits: Tsehay Hawkins becomes new Yellow Wiggle . Moran . Robert . . 19 October 2021 . 19 October 2021 . 18 November 2021 . subscription . live .
  6. Incredible 12-Year-Old Dancer Tsehay Hawkins Featured on Little Big Shots TV . Tadias staff . Tadias Magazine . 7 September 2018 . 17 November 2021 .
  7. News: Tsehay wows crowd and trumps competition in Maddie and Mackenzie Ziegler's Australian tour News Local . Elmerhebe . Tarik . . 15 February 2017 . National Library of Australia . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20170305065314/http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/macarthur/tsehay-wows-crowd-and-trumps-competition-in-maddie-and-mackenzie-zieglers-australian-tour/news-story/0bb9edf9df227e55b4f3843131331634 . 5 March 2017 . 17 November 2021 .
  8. Web site: https://web.archive.org/web/20200318104800/https://www.salsasolo.com.au/results-2019 . Results 2019 . Salsa Solo . 18 March 2020 . 17 November 2021 .
  9. Web site: Bain . Cassandra . Meet Tsehay Hawkins: the teenager taking over as the Yellow Wiggle . SBS . 21 October 2021 . 19 October 2021.
  10. Web site: Joining the Wiggles is 'dream come true' for teen dance star Tsehay Hawkins . Weaver . Jackson . msn.com . 3 November 2021 . 4 December 2021 .
  11. Web site: Lyons . Erin . Four new members to join The Wiggles in a nod to cultural diversity . News.com.au . 21 October 2021 . 22 August 2021.
  12. Web site: The moment blue Wiggle Anthony Field realized the band had to change . Motherwell . Sarah . ABC News . 28 August 2021 . National Library of Australia . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20210828060403/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-08-28/the-wiggles-new-members-anthony-field-evie-ferris/100408976 . 28 August 2021 . 17 November 2021 .
  13. Web site: 'Woke Wiggles': it's not just Jeff who needs to wake up . Buttigieg . Mel . . 23 August 2021 . National Library of Australia . https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20210824003250/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/188260/20210824-1000/amp.theage.com.au/national/woke-wiggles-it-s-not-just-jeff-who-needs-to-wake-up-20210823-p58l6s.html . 24 August 2021 . 17 November 2021 .
  14. Web site: Goodall . Hamish . Tsehay Hawkins to replace Emma Watkins in the Wiggles . 7NEWS . 21 October 2021 . 19 October 2021.
  15. Web site: Young . Savanna . Who is Tsehay Hawkins? Emma Watkins' replacement as the new Yellow Wiggle . nine.com.au . 21 October 2021 . 19 October 2021.
  16. Web site: Layt . Jess . Meet the new Yellow Wiggle, Tsehay Hawkins . Northern Beaches Review . 21 October 2021 . 20 October 2021.
  17. Web site: ARIA . 24 November 2021 . 2021 ARIA Awards in partnership with YouTube Music . 25 November 2021 . YouTube.