TORONTO - If longtime fans of the Wiggles have noticed a fair bit more wiggling by the children's entertainers recently, it's due to the group's own offspring.
Blue Wiggle Anthony Field says he's incorporated a lot more dancing into the group's routines since the birth of his first daughter, Lucia, four years ago.
"She loves ballet and things that, as a male, I've never really watched before," Field said this week when the group stopped in Toronto for a round of media interviews.
"So the Wiggles have kind of become a bit more, dare I say, girly. Dorothy (the Dinosaur) does ballet now and we dance as well a lot more than we did. They (Field's children) inspire a lot of what we do now."
Of course, kids have always been an inspiration to the Australian troupe, founded nearly 17 years ago when Field was studying early childhood education at Sydney's Macquarie University.
Red Wiggle Murray Cook has two kids, aged 11 and 14, and tells tales of weathering the ups and downs of his pre-teens' alternating affinity and distaste for his alter ego, says Yellow Wiggle Sam Moran.
Field says his kids have made it clear that dad is not as exciting as the guy in the bright blue long-sleeve shirt, the Blue Wiggle's trademark outfit.
"They kind of know that I'm not the Wiggle all the time," says Field, who also has a two-year-old daughter and 11-month-old boy.
"They kind of prefer the guy on the television, I think," he says chuckling.
The Wiggles - rounded out by Purple Wiggle Jeff Fatt - return to Canadian television April 21 with the world premiere of season six's Wiggle and Learn on Treehouse. The show will be the first to include new member Moran as the Yellow Wiggle.
Moran joined the group after former frontman Greg Page stepped down for health reasons in November 2006.
Moran, who was Page's understudy before taking over the spotlight, says he's excited about his TV debut and is eager to hear what people think, but adds that he's been embraced by fans since taking on the role 18 months ago.
Field says the group put a lot of effort into their return to TV, noting the new batch of shows will feature 60 new songs.
"Everyone remembers Greg and we want to make sure that when they see this they go, 'OK it's different but it's really really good.' It's lots of costumes, nursery rhymes, new songs, dancing and lots of fun."
The new season coincides with the group's first-ever extensive Canadian tour, Pop Go the Wiggles, starting in Winnipeg, April 11 and including stops in Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.
A DVD and CD of nursery rhymes, also named Pop Goes the Wiggles, came out last week.
Offspring put the wiggle in the Wiggles
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