Being just 17 years old, it wasn’t all that long ago that Tsehay Hawkins was watching the legendary Australian children’s music group The Wiggles herself.
Hawkins and the rest of the Wiggles are currently on their Ready, Steady, Wiggle Tour of Canada, and will be visiting the Sudbury Community Arena on Oct. 6. Previously attending a performing arts high school, Hawkins has now finished her secondary school education. She said her youth is actually an advantage, as she has a lot of energy to spare. With The Wiggles having been formed in 1991, more than 30 years ago, Hawkins said she grew up in the “prime time” of the original Wiggles crew. Her favourites as a kid were Dorothy the Dinosaur and Greg Page, one of her predecessors as the yellow Wiggle.
The current core four Wiggles are Hawkins, Anthony Field , Lachlan Gillespie and Simon Pryce. Supporting members are Evie Ferris, John Pearce, Caterina Mete and Lucia Field.“I think it's really important that I can bring representation to the Wiggles, and I'm very grateful that they've allowed me to do that,” she said. “I think just seeing someone that looks like you on screen really matters. I think if you can see it, you can be it.
“My name, Tsehay, is Ethiopian, and it directly translates to ‘the sun,’” she said. “So sunflowers is kind of a tie-in.”