CNN.com: Mythical mermaids have fascinated humans for centuries, and alluring creatures in bikini tops and fish tails seem to be keeping the love alive.
One of the first mermaid shows in the United States can be traced back to Weeki Wachee Springs in Florida, where mermaids debuted synchronized ballet moves at an 18-seat theater in October 1947.
19 comments:
Apparently the 'sip and dip lounge'--a bar--has an actual swimming pool with glass walls. Even taking away the mermaid idea, that sounds like an awesome place. Field trip?
I'm fairly certain you can buy a waterproof mermaid 'tail' pretty easily off the internet, since this mermaid show thing has taken off. But I find myself wondering how exactly the first mermaid performers crafted their tail, what materials they used, how nice it looked, whether it's actually a functional flipper for swimming, etc.
Okay, my first thought was that these women must have the best abs ever! Secondly, I think that these 'mermaid bars' are a really great take on your average surf and turf place. Especially somewhere that is land locked, like Montana, it is very easy to see the attraction. I think that it would be a really fun experience. I must confess that I did not realize that there were so many of these types of bars and attractions. But it does make sense, they are one of the coolest mythical creatures. So it only stands to reason that we are fascinated with them even as adults.
The weirdest part may be that this article is from CNN. beyond that, I had no idea these existed, but it makes perfect sense. I would absolutely go to one of the 5 listed venues. I really would like to know about some of their safety procedures are though. The performers must be incredibly talented and prepared (especially the olympians), but it is still a very physically taxing job. Swimming in the same tank as a lot of fish presents some concerns as well. I would love to find out about how they operate on a more detailed level. These bars seem amazing. From the pictures they seem much more extravagant and well thought out then your average themed restaurant, which is what I was picturing at first. The appeal is clear.
I would be interested to know some of the behind-the-scenes information about these bars. What kind of insurance do they have, not only for their employees, but also for their fish? Tropical fish can be very expensive, and if something were to happen to any of the sea life during a show, how would the company handle the situation? Vice-versa, if something were yo happen to any of the performers because of the sea life, how would the company handle the situation? Do the "mermaids" have to have any special training before they are able to perform shows in a tank with living creatures? I also wonder what kind of upkeep is necessary with a show like this. Costumes must take a lot more damage constantly being underwater than they would in a normal performance. Are there special materials that are used to make the costumes, and how often do they need to be repaired or replaced? All in all, it seems like a pretty cool experience to me. You can't have a job like that anywhere outside of the entertainment industry.
Florida!!! Land of Oranges, Disney World, and Mermaids.
Jess, by tropical fish, you mean their mermaids right? I can't imagine that purchasing a mermaid would come cheap.
On a serious note, I would be extremely interested in seeing one of these show, not only for the entertainment factor, but also to see how this performance is actually run. Underwater stage manager? How do they breathe?! SO many questions!!!! It seems to me like Cirque would be very interested in things of this sort. Perhaps they already use this theatre technology and I just have no idea...
Who wouldn't want to buy a drink from a fire eating mermaid. But really.
Live entertainment can be added to so many events, restaurants, parks, car sales, anything. You have to be mindful of the different elements interacting with the performers. There's less of a boundary between the performers and the consumers. What unusual risks are presented by the environment.
It's important to evaluate atypical scenarios and budget the additional precautions before adding live entertainment into a project.
But if you know of any opportunities, let the seniors know. Showcase fundraising is nigh.
Haha, sounds like a fabulous option Ariel! Seriously though, I loved reading this article- I remember hearing about "acrobatic mermaid shows" in theme parks and such thanks to a 20/20 episode, and I am just dazzled to find out, again, that venues and places like this exist! I too have a lot of curiosity about all the what-ifs that are related to the making and maintaining of this show: one of the must burning questions is how do they breathe?? There must be a certain training involved- to ensure safety and to even be positive that performers can do their job! There must be timing involved, too. Whether or not such work required supernatural breathing capabilities, it sure requires a lot of effort and consideration of so many elements. I would love to see one of these shows in my life!
I do not find societies interest in mermaids surprising. Right now we are fascinated with fairy tales of all sorts and I am not surprised that mermaids are one of them. These fantastical creatures used to existed only in our dreams. It is interesting to hear how people have brought these creatures out of their imagination and into real life. I would be interested to know more about how they choreograph the shows while taking into account the performers need to breathe.
This is such an interesting concept! I never knew anything like this existed. I always loved mermaids ever since i was a little kid and to this day I would live underwater if that was an option. I kinda wanna try this for a job, especially the part where you get to be in the water with all the sea creatures. I would also really enjoy the backstage part of this, making mermaid costumes for underwater sounds like a very interesting challenge, but pretty awesome none the less. Im interested to see how they handle breathing and how they incorporate that into the show where it does not distract the audience. I'd love to find out more about how this is done and i wish they performed in a closer location where i could go see them.
I have to say im kind of shocked that disney does not have an underwater Little Mermaid show and that they weren't the first ones to come up with this, because i feel like if any one could pull something like this off it would be them.
I didn't know this existed! I feel like I hear about a new fascination that is shared by a large group of people almost every day, and have come to assume that there must be somebody out there who is fascinated by any las thing anyone could find. this is not necessarily a bad thing. It makes it easy to create a niche in one's work, knowing that there is a market for anything. The difficult part lies in finding and exploiting that market to one's advantage. In this specific article, we are talking about mermaids, It is clear that this particular area is being done right. IT has been able to garner viewers from not only those previously interested in mermaids, but gained new viewers who are curious about such a thing as well.
OK, I have actually been to the Sip and Dip Lounge in Great Falls Montana. I was there as the Stage Manager with The Second City National Tour. Of course we went there after the show. The pool is actually the pool of the motel of where the bar is. It is used by guests during the day. The owner of the bar recognized the cast from the show. After a bit of negotiating me and a couple of the guys made arrangements to come back the next morning and swim in the mermaid costumes. There is a photo of me in a mermaid costume through the window of this bar. This however was not the only highlight of this visit. In this bar is a Wurlitzer organ. Every night when the mermaids are on break an 70 year old woman name Piano Pat comes out and plays the organ and sings standards. The night we were there the cast led the bar in a sing-a-long. We bought her CD. For weeks following, the Second City National Tour did their curtain call to Piano Pat from the Sip and Dip Lounge singing Sweet Caroline to the organ. Good times.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5O3HYfqK0cU
I knew that Mermaids were a kinda burlesque synchronized swimming kinda show back from the 40's, and i am super surprised that its taken so long to catch on with all the mermaid folklore and children's love of mermaids. You'd think disney would've cashed in on the idea years ago. Also how cool would it be to see The Little Mermaid performed live underwater. IMAGINE THE POSSIBILITIES for set sand lights and stuff, IT WOULD BE SO COOL AND FUN TO DESIGN THAT!!!!!! but also a bitch to manage.
Mermaids are an interesting form of performance art. They are basically acting on a different level because rather than pretending to be a different person they're pretending to be a mythical underwater creature with an over sized tail. One reason I think they are so fascinating is that they seem so real and believable. The tail becomes a part of them and looks entirely possible. Having mermaids in bars and restaurants is a really interesting idea and I'd much rather prefer that over a mariachi band or a ipod on shuffle
I have never heard of a mermaid performance until I read this article. They sound magical and really fun to watch. The pictures of the bars looked very nice, but I noticed that none of the actresses had breathing masks. I'm curious to see how their choreography revolves around the actresses coming up for air. The introduction to the article interested me very much: about the first mermaid show in 1947. It reminds me of the Busby Berkeley films, and I can understand how this synchronized swimming could be seen in an 18 seat theatre. The audience would look down on the swimmers, but in these bars, the audience is diners on the same plane as the swimmers. I think it would be interesting if the diners could see the swimmers from above, but I don't know how they could do that and eat food. Perhaps this type of performance is best for theatre and not dinner occasions?
I love how this type of work is spreading. It seems like a very enjoyable profession for both the "mermaid" and the audience. It definitely adds a very abstract factor to the normal water bar type environment. When I see this, I think about how it could be utilized in places like Sea World and Seaquariums around the world for more entertainment, especially for the younger crowds that like to fantasize and think about such creatures. I think this is ingenious and such a fun take on our mythical ideas and thoughts.
I think the whole idea of mermaids is a great idea. It is like another form of art along the lines of water ballet or figure skating. The art form takes place in a very specific environment. It is interesting to think how an underwater show could take place and how technologies would have to be transitioned to underwater usage. I think it is interesting to think how water parks like SeaWorld etc. could incorporate these "dancers" into their performances.
My personal opinion is that these mermaid shows can range from the cheesiest things ever to beautiful performance art. Considering most of the places mentioned in the article are bars, I would assume that most of them were towards the tacky side. There's nothing wrong with that to entertain people, but to talking about it on the level of legitimate art is ridiculous to me.
Everything else aside, I always find it interesting that legends of mermaids are thought to have come from sightings of manatees. Which somehow became stories of half fish women. Go figure. I do rather wonder if mermaid costumes actually aid in swimming, or if they just look pretty. Also, What are they made of?
The first thing that I thought when I read this article was why is there 21,000 gallon tank next to the bar only separated by a glass wall?
Aside from that I agree that this is a really neat idea and I wonder how many of these performers have strong synchronized swimming backgrounds. As previously pointed out what are the factors that theses establishments have for these performances is a huge question?
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