Former Wiggle bringing her Island Dance Party to WA
Emma Memma is back — this time for a fabulous underwater dance party.
The beloved children's entertainer and former Wiggle — whose real name is Emma Watkins — is returning to the west coast in July for three magical performances of her spectacular new show, Island Dance Party.
The production will feature special guests Waffles the Wombat, Elvin Melvin and BB Butterfly, while singing hits like Crocodile Snap, Jellyfish Blob and Turtle Hide and Seek from her latest album, Island Dance Party.
Watkins described the show as '50 minutes of complete interaction' and said it struck a balance between education and entertainment.
'We have a lot of parents reaching out to us, especially educators, letting us know that they're using our content in schools or pre-school settings or community centres, which is awesome,' she told The West.
'People are using our content for educational reasons, but at the end of the day, the Dance Island Party is what it is: a party.
'Elvin (Melvin) is actually profoundly deaf, so he performs the entire show in sign language which is incredible.' Emma Memma. Credit: Jared Lyons / Jared Lyons
Watkins, who has performed on Telethon since 2023 and was a special guest at the 2024 Christmas pageant, said WA was a 'special place'.
'Perth has been a really special place for Emma Memma over the last couple of years, and I think it's lovely for us to be able to come back,' she said.
'We do get a lot of feedback that people are genuinely super grateful that we've come over to the west coast.
'A lot of shows don't get over there (to WA), especially kids shows, and why should they miss out?
'We want to make sure that we're bringing our show to every corner in Australia.'
And with still more than a month to go, Watkins said dozens of children were already counting down the number of sleeps and creating colourful costumes and placards to bring to the show.
'On social media I get a lot of parents tagging me in their countdown calendars,' she said.
'It's nice to know the show isn't just a show — the children are learning the songs, watching new YouTube videos and learning the choreography, so by the time they get to the show, they've already done an incredible amount of research.
'Children want to wear their favourite Emma Memma outfit or Waffles the Wombat costume, it's a huge part of the lead up to our show.'
Dance Island Party will be showing at Bunbury Entertainment Centre on July 6 and Riverside Theatre on July 7.
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