CBS This Morning
GRACE UNDERWATER: AQUALILLIES REVIVE SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING
What do you get when mix bathing caps, bright red lipstick and hip hop? The Aqualillies. Theirs is a modern twist on the glamorous water ballet seen in films from the 1940s and 1950s, and a reinvention of the pool party. Wearing vintage swimsuits and bathing caps, the Aqualillies look like performers from a bygone era. The group is made up of dancers who learned to swim, and synchronized swimmers who learned to dance.
“It really is a hybrid of elegance and glamour,” said the group’s founder and director, performance artist Mesha Kussman. “A little spicier, a little more attitude, kind of a modern-day vibe too.” The retro look and feel harkens back to the golden age of Hollywood, when a competitive swimmer named Esther Williams became an actress and brought synchronized swimming to the big screen. The Aqualillies were thrilled to pay tribute to Williams, now 90, when she came to watch their show in 2010. That was the same year Mary Jeanette joined the team. Jeannette says she has looked up to Williams her entire life. She says she feels lucky to be able to be a competitive synchronized swimmer and entertainer.
