LA WEEKLY

AQUALILLIES MASH-UP OLD AND NEW HOLLYWOOD WITH WATER BALLET PERFORMANCES

Aqualillies are a mix of old and new Hollywood. The swimmers and dancers, who perform in and around pools, are costumed in 1950s-styled swimsuits, designed by Nicolita in these shots, and perform to remixes of songs by Marilyn Monroe and other tunes that invoke vintage glamor queens. They’ve taken the style of the legendary swimming sequences from Esther Williams’ films and reinvented it to fit modern pool parties.

Mesha Kussman founded Aqualillies after noticing a pool at a party. “I saw this pool and I thought, this is a stage,” she says. “This beautifully lit blue pool is a stage and there needs to be performers in it and around it.”

“My hope is that Aqualillies will help to bring about a renaissance of synchronized swimming as entertainment,” says Kussman. “So far, people are really responding to it.”