MusicJournoHi-5 (one for the kiddies)
April 6th 2008 08:10
DON’T BE fooled, an experience with Hi-5 is not all for the little ones - it is something for the entire family.
Gone are the days where children’s entertainment had to be like the proverbial of pulling teeth for the parents, thanks to an enigmatic cast and intelligent songs, Hi-5 have managed to transition kids’ entertainment over into the contemporary adult spectrum.
One of the five presenters beloved by children around the globe, Nathan Foley isn’t surprised by the influx of teenagers and adults he sees at shows.
“I have always called this show, not just a kids’ show, but a family show,” he enthuses.
“It is something for everybody, even the grandparents can come along and enjoy – it is like a mini rock concert really – so the kids can get down in the little mini ‘mosh’ pit and have fun down the front as well.”
He is right when he says Hi-5 has lifted and set the benchmark for children’s entertainment.
The result is an interactive program that appeals to a cross section and utilises Top 40 style music but with viable lyrical content applicable to children.
“It has got to always change, you’ve got to move with the times or you will be left behind,” Nathan says of the constant evolving cycle of songs and dance routines the Hi-5 team embrace.
“I think the must is just more acceptable, we’ve got a huge teenage following as well who love the show.
“The thing with Hi-5 is it is such a broad show for everybody – even older people I have met have loved the show, and they don’t have children or grandchildren of their own.
“They’ve watched it because it is clean, it is fun.”
And it certainly must be fun because Nathan himself has been part of Hi-5 for a decade.
The 28-year-old, who has been performing since he was young, initially went to an audition for the show without a great deal of knowledge of kids’ entertainment.
It was an eye-opening experience for him, and one he wouldn’t swap for the world.
“This is my 10th year, so it is my life,” he says.
“It is what I have done for most of my life in the entertainment industry.
“The guess the main thing, I can look back when I get older and I won’t be doing this anymore and I can go, I was a role model and I actually helped raise children from around the world – influence them in some way and be positive in their life.
“I have been a big brother to them for the last 10 years and that is a really important role, not many people in this country can actually say that.”
Likewise, he acknowledges he has learned things along the way, namely from the kids he meets through Hi-5.
And one of the most important things in his opinion is never to underestimate kids – and to not pigeonhole them as just being children either.
Nathan says with the amount of outward influences, such as the internet, kids know so much nowadays and children’s entertainment has had to mould to those changes.
“I never underestimate kids,” he says.
“Getting in there has been amazing, it is really fun to work with children, they are so smart.
“If they don’t like what you are doing on stage, they will tell you – but luckily, we don’t get that a lot.
“They are very honest and I think that is a hard audience, but it is very challenging as well.
“I think a lot of entertainers and a lot of people in the country go ‘oh, you are working with children’s entertainment, it must be easy, half an hour a day’.
“It is actually not, a lot of work goes into working and performing for them.”
In fact, it is a phenomenal amount of work on the behalf of the five presenters in Hi-5 that goes in every day to make sure each and every show is a hit.
Nathan admits about 14-15 hours a day, six-days-a-week is dedicated to rehearsal – and that’s not counting the days on the live circuit when the group is on tour.
“Live days are absolutely full on,” he raves enthusiastically.
“It is like you are doing two aerobic classes a day and being able to sing as well.
“With performing, it is long hours, a lot of work goes into it and a lot of respect goes into it as well.”
Hi-5 itself is a highly interactive show – it is all about audience participation – getting kids and even the adults involved in the excitement.
One of the queries he gets constantly is how, when kids grow up, they too can have an entertainment career like him - and in this circumstance his advice is pretty clear.
“First and foremost if you wanted to be a performer or entertainer, do not think of fame first,” he says seriously.
“A lot of kids out there and teenagers who want to get into the arts go, I can’t wait to be famous.
“That is not the right way to look at it - it is not the right attitude.
“You have got to go into it and say I love what I do, I am in this job because I want to sing, I want to dance, I want to act, I want to do it because of that - and everything will follow.
“Anyone can be famous for even the worse things in this world, but if you love what you do, that’s the main thing to aspire to.
“If you don’t love what you do and you just want to be famous, there is no point doing it at all.”
And it is immediately evident that Nathan thoroughly loves his life.
Performing for Hi-5 isn’t so much a job for him as a lifestyle and he says he could never compare the memories he takes away from each show to anything else he could ever have done.
Hi-5 are touring nationally and bringing their ‘Party Street’ tour to regional areas for a series of select dates during the April school holidays.
Gone are the days where children’s entertainment had to be like the proverbial of pulling teeth for the parents, thanks to an enigmatic cast and intelligent songs, Hi-5 have managed to transition kids’ entertainment over into the contemporary adult spectrum.
One of the five presenters beloved by children around the globe, Nathan Foley isn’t surprised by the influx of teenagers and adults he sees at shows.
“I have always called this show, not just a kids’ show, but a family show,” he enthuses.
He is right when he says Hi-5 has lifted and set the benchmark for children’s entertainment.
The result is an interactive program that appeals to a cross section and utilises Top 40 style music but with viable lyrical content applicable to children.
“It has got to always change, you’ve got to move with the times or you will be left behind,” Nathan says of the constant evolving cycle of songs and dance routines the Hi-5 team embrace.
“I think the must is just more acceptable, we’ve got a huge teenage following as well who love the show.
“The thing with Hi-5 is it is such a broad show for everybody – even older people I have met have loved the show, and they don’t have children or grandchildren of their own.
“They’ve watched it because it is clean, it is fun.”
And it certainly must be fun because Nathan himself has been part of Hi-5 for a decade.
The 28-year-old, who has been performing since he was young, initially went to an audition for the show without a great deal of knowledge of kids’ entertainment.
“This is my 10th year, so it is my life,” he says.
“It is what I have done for most of my life in the entertainment industry.
“The guess the main thing, I can look back when I get older and I won’t be doing this anymore and I can go, I was a role model and I actually helped raise children from around the world – influence them in some way and be positive in their life.
“I have been a big brother to them for the last 10 years and that is a really important role, not many people in this country can actually say that.”
Likewise, he acknowledges he has learned things along the way, namely from the kids he meets through Hi-5.
And one of the most important things in his opinion is never to underestimate kids – and to not pigeonhole them as just being children either.
Nathan says with the amount of outward influences, such as the internet, kids know so much nowadays and children’s entertainment has had to mould to those changes.
“I never underestimate kids,” he says.
“Getting in there has been amazing, it is really fun to work with children, they are so smart.
“If they don’t like what you are doing on stage, they will tell you – but luckily, we don’t get that a lot.
“They are very honest and I think that is a hard audience, but it is very challenging as well.
“I think a lot of entertainers and a lot of people in the country go ‘oh, you are working with children’s entertainment, it must be easy, half an hour a day’.
“It is actually not, a lot of work goes into working and performing for them.”
In fact, it is a phenomenal amount of work on the behalf of the five presenters in Hi-5 that goes in every day to make sure each and every show is a hit.
Nathan admits about 14-15 hours a day, six-days-a-week is dedicated to rehearsal – and that’s not counting the days on the live circuit when the group is on tour.
“Live days are absolutely full on,” he raves enthusiastically.
“It is like you are doing two aerobic classes a day and being able to sing as well.
“With performing, it is long hours, a lot of work goes into it and a lot of respect goes into it as well.”
Hi-5 itself is a highly interactive show – it is all about audience participation – getting kids and even the adults involved in the excitement.
One of the queries he gets constantly is how, when kids grow up, they too can have an entertainment career like him - and in this circumstance his advice is pretty clear.
“First and foremost if you wanted to be a performer or entertainer, do not think of fame first,” he says seriously.
“A lot of kids out there and teenagers who want to get into the arts go, I can’t wait to be famous.
“That is not the right way to look at it - it is not the right attitude.
“You have got to go into it and say I love what I do, I am in this job because I want to sing, I want to dance, I want to act, I want to do it because of that - and everything will follow.
“Anyone can be famous for even the worse things in this world, but if you love what you do, that’s the main thing to aspire to.
“If you don’t love what you do and you just want to be famous, there is no point doing it at all.”
And it is immediately evident that Nathan thoroughly loves his life.
Performing for Hi-5 isn’t so much a job for him as a lifestyle and he says he could never compare the memories he takes away from each show to anything else he could ever have done.
Hi-5 are touring nationally and bringing their ‘Party Street’ tour to regional areas for a series of select dates during the April school holidays.
| 55 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Subscribe to this blog
