Last monday the class learned the basics of Synchronized Swimming! Originally known as Water Ballet, the first recorded competition was in 1891 in Berlin. Water Ballet clubs soon began learning and rehearsing routines and “tricks”. As well as being a competitive sport, synchronized swimming was popular as large-scale entertainment performance in the early to mid-20th century, particularly in big-budget hollywood movies. Here’s a clip of Esther Williams, a famous water ballerina of her day, in a very elaborate scene from the 1944 film Bathing Beauty :
We started out the synchro workshop by learning some of the basic syncro moves I had learned from real-life synchronized swimmer Rebecca (who used to train 25 hours a week!!)–
The Basic Moves:
- Lay-up – lying flat in the water and “sculling” with your hands
- Tub – tucking your knees into your chest, keeping your shins above the water and toes pointed (pictured above)
- Sailboat – the Tub but with one leg pointed in the air
After getting these moves down (more or less), the class made our own attempts at being Bathing Beauties. Here is the final result of our routine-
We learned that synchronized swimming is a pretty tough sport- it’s a real work-out, but you have to look happy and ballerina-like while doing it.
Thanks to the swimmers for being such willing participants, and to Katie for documenting!
