Bust Magazine
6 WAYS TO DIVE INTO SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING
“It absolutely feels like a swimming sisterhood,” says Mary Jeanette Ramsey, the executive director of the L.A.-based Aqualillies. “It’s really special.” If you’ve seen the Coen brothers’ movie Hail, Ceasar!, you’re already familiar with the kaleidoscopic performance capabilities of this synchronized swim team. If you haven’t, imagine women decked out in matching swimsuits performing gorgeous, gravity-defying feats in water—all while keeping perfectly in sync. What started in L.A. in 2008 as a performance group has become a worldwide phenomenon with troupes in New York, Paris, and Melbourne to name a few. The swimmers—whose other jobs range from dancers and actresses to lawyers and engineers—have performed everywhere from Olympic-size swimming pools to Jacuzzis. And their shows don’t just dazzle with sparkly swimsuits and smiles; some serious athleticism and choreography goes into making those moves. “I think there’s a nostalgia for 1940s glamour, that Busby Berkeley kind of experience,” Ramsey says. “[The Aqualillies have] that old-Hollywood vibe but with really high-impact stunts.” Most of the Aqualillies’ performances take place at private events, but every year on August 8, Esther Williams’ birthday, they perform in public as an homage to the queen of synchronized swimming.
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