deepblue
09-23-2013, 12:53 AM
Marina Duran-Anderson, Florida Bar Mermaid, Talks Underwater Acting And Blurred Vision
From here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/22/florida-bar-mermaid_n_3970709.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e9XOhmZOLk
With her long, wavy red hair, purple shells and green fish tail, Ariel made young girls dream of being "The Little Mermaid." But the fairytale turns out to be far from reality.
Being a mermaid in South Florida actually takes a lot of work.
Fort Lauderdale's Marina Duran-Anderson is an aquatic performer or, as some may dub her, a real-life mermaid. She plays one every Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at The Wreck Bar at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel on Seabreeze Boulevard.
She works out constantly -- running, swimming, doing push-ups and sit-ups -- so she can perform her 30-minute show to adoring fans at the bar. Her reward? Not just praise and admiration from toddlers and grown-ups. There are also sore muscles. And bloodshot eyes from all the chlorine, which leads to blurred vision that sometimes takes 24 hours to get back to normal.
"Most girls think they can put on a fish tail and start swimming," Duran-Anderson said. "That's a lovely idea. But that's like telling a ballerina, 'Here, put on toe shoes and do a pirouette.' There's more to it."
The popular weekend shows -- with at least two women dressed as mermaids and one as a pearl diver -- are now on their seventh year. It's more than just underwater acting.
It requires hiring and training athletic women to "work the aquatic stage" and convince the audience that they're perfectly fine holding their breath underwater for several minutes at a time.
The mermaids perform underwater in the hotel's main pool. They take turns spending a few minutes underwater -- smiling, posing and doing fancy flips -- before swimming back up for air. Visitors see them through portholes that look onto the pool.
Duran-Anderson says she wants the aquatic shows to be, "forgive the pun, an immersing experience," reminiscent of Old Florida attractions and an uncommon alternative to the typical weekend outing.
The Wreck Bar is dimly lit and designed to look like the inside of a ship. Water is everywhere; besides the portholes looking into the pool on one wall, there are two other walls with two large aquariums.
Locals, tourists and staff at the ship-shaped hotel say the performances are unique in South Florida. The nearest mermaid sightings are more than 300 miles away at Weeki Wachi Springs, north of Tampa.
Aquatic shows used to be popular at the South Florida hotel in the 1950s and 1960s, back when it was still named the Yankee Clipper and before its recent multimillion dollar makeover, said Amaury Piedra, the hotel's general manager.
The free shows are bringing back that old-time luster. Not to mention, they're also spiking the bar's revenue at least 25 percent on performance nights, Piedra said.
"It's a huge hit with customers," he said. "It's that kind of stuff that people remember and look for on YouTube."
It was a must-do item on Brian Logan's family trip to Fort Lauderdale from Atlanta. They found out about the show while looking up things to do in Fort Lauderdale.
"It was different. We've never seen anything like it," Logan said while his two daughters, ages 5 and 2, waited to greet the mermaids after the show. "They loved it."
Debi London, a scuba diver who lives in Fort Lauderdale, went to the bar with at least five other scuba-diving buddies to celebrate her 48th birthday. "It's fun, it's memorable," she said. "Everyone is happy."
Even though the mermaids can't see the audience very well, they can still tell if they're enjoying the show, Duran-Anderson said.
"We can hear claps, we can hear yells," she said. "The more we hear people cheering, the cockier we get. We'll stay down there."
They also can tell when customers are not impressed.
"Sometimes we do a fancy maneuver and nothing. Crickets. And I'm thinking, 'seriously?'" she laughed.
For Duran-Anderson, the shows are more than just entertainment. Her goal, she says, is to also empower those who see them perform.
On some nights, the mermaids are joined by people doing cameo appearances, those who want to challenge themselves and swim underwater with the mythical beauties.
It happened on a recent Friday. Donning a red swimsuit, Kristal Mize swam with the mermaids.
Mize said she began taking swimming lessons with Duran-Anderson about a year ago just to become a better swimmer. Just recently, she became interested in being part of the show. So she gave it a shot.
"It's a lot of hard work. They make it look easy, but it's not," the 33-year-old West Palm Beach resident said after the show. "Before I couldn't stay underwater for five seconds. Now I can hold my breath and even do maneuvers.
"It's not about the mermaid tail or piece of fabric. It's about proving to yourself what you can do. This is fulfilling."
mvalverde@tribune.com, 954-356-4526, Twitter @MiriamValverde
At a glance: Mermaids
Salary: Ranges, could be $500 or $2,000 based on where they're contracted. Can get booked for private parties, films, photo shoots, or as is the local case, The Wreck Bar. The bar declined to disclose how much it pays them. Compensation also may depend on venue, water temperatures.
Performers get paid, apprentices don't. What the apprentices get is the training for free from Duran-Anderson.
Benefits/retirement benefits: None. They work as freelancers.
Job requirement: Lots of training -- both in swimming and out-of-the-pool workouts. Helps if they have acting and dance backgrounds. Several performers are belly dancers or have some other dance training.
Typical age: 20s to 40s.
Costume cost: Duran-Anderson covers the cost of the outfits. The tails' prices vary on how elaborate they are. They vary from $200 to "thousands." Shell tops: from $50 to more than $100.
Makeup: The waterproof kind that can be found at local beauty stores, though some performers order customized makeup. It's up to them. Performers provide their own makeup.
Full-time or part-time: For Duran-Anderson, this is her full-time job, because she also gets booked for other events -- private parties, films and such. But for the other mermaids, it's just a supplement. They have other jobs, some as belly dancers or other type of entertainment job.
"They do it because they enjoy being able to do it," Duran-Anderson said. "It's like any other artistic form, this is art and some people just want to practice the art. Without an outlet to do it, it's difficult."
From here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/22/florida-bar-mermaid_n_3970709.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2e9XOhmZOLk
With her long, wavy red hair, purple shells and green fish tail, Ariel made young girls dream of being "The Little Mermaid." But the fairytale turns out to be far from reality.
Being a mermaid in South Florida actually takes a lot of work.
Fort Lauderdale's Marina Duran-Anderson is an aquatic performer or, as some may dub her, a real-life mermaid. She plays one every Friday and Saturday at 6:30 p.m. at The Wreck Bar at the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Beach Hotel on Seabreeze Boulevard.
She works out constantly -- running, swimming, doing push-ups and sit-ups -- so she can perform her 30-minute show to adoring fans at the bar. Her reward? Not just praise and admiration from toddlers and grown-ups. There are also sore muscles. And bloodshot eyes from all the chlorine, which leads to blurred vision that sometimes takes 24 hours to get back to normal.
"Most girls think they can put on a fish tail and start swimming," Duran-Anderson said. "That's a lovely idea. But that's like telling a ballerina, 'Here, put on toe shoes and do a pirouette.' There's more to it."
The popular weekend shows -- with at least two women dressed as mermaids and one as a pearl diver -- are now on their seventh year. It's more than just underwater acting.
It requires hiring and training athletic women to "work the aquatic stage" and convince the audience that they're perfectly fine holding their breath underwater for several minutes at a time.
The mermaids perform underwater in the hotel's main pool. They take turns spending a few minutes underwater -- smiling, posing and doing fancy flips -- before swimming back up for air. Visitors see them through portholes that look onto the pool.
Duran-Anderson says she wants the aquatic shows to be, "forgive the pun, an immersing experience," reminiscent of Old Florida attractions and an uncommon alternative to the typical weekend outing.
The Wreck Bar is dimly lit and designed to look like the inside of a ship. Water is everywhere; besides the portholes looking into the pool on one wall, there are two other walls with two large aquariums.
Locals, tourists and staff at the ship-shaped hotel say the performances are unique in South Florida. The nearest mermaid sightings are more than 300 miles away at Weeki Wachi Springs, north of Tampa.
Aquatic shows used to be popular at the South Florida hotel in the 1950s and 1960s, back when it was still named the Yankee Clipper and before its recent multimillion dollar makeover, said Amaury Piedra, the hotel's general manager.
The free shows are bringing back that old-time luster. Not to mention, they're also spiking the bar's revenue at least 25 percent on performance nights, Piedra said.
"It's a huge hit with customers," he said. "It's that kind of stuff that people remember and look for on YouTube."
It was a must-do item on Brian Logan's family trip to Fort Lauderdale from Atlanta. They found out about the show while looking up things to do in Fort Lauderdale.
"It was different. We've never seen anything like it," Logan said while his two daughters, ages 5 and 2, waited to greet the mermaids after the show. "They loved it."
Debi London, a scuba diver who lives in Fort Lauderdale, went to the bar with at least five other scuba-diving buddies to celebrate her 48th birthday. "It's fun, it's memorable," she said. "Everyone is happy."
Even though the mermaids can't see the audience very well, they can still tell if they're enjoying the show, Duran-Anderson said.
"We can hear claps, we can hear yells," she said. "The more we hear people cheering, the cockier we get. We'll stay down there."
They also can tell when customers are not impressed.
"Sometimes we do a fancy maneuver and nothing. Crickets. And I'm thinking, 'seriously?'" she laughed.
For Duran-Anderson, the shows are more than just entertainment. Her goal, she says, is to also empower those who see them perform.
On some nights, the mermaids are joined by people doing cameo appearances, those who want to challenge themselves and swim underwater with the mythical beauties.
It happened on a recent Friday. Donning a red swimsuit, Kristal Mize swam with the mermaids.
Mize said she began taking swimming lessons with Duran-Anderson about a year ago just to become a better swimmer. Just recently, she became interested in being part of the show. So she gave it a shot.
"It's a lot of hard work. They make it look easy, but it's not," the 33-year-old West Palm Beach resident said after the show. "Before I couldn't stay underwater for five seconds. Now I can hold my breath and even do maneuvers.
"It's not about the mermaid tail or piece of fabric. It's about proving to yourself what you can do. This is fulfilling."
mvalverde@tribune.com, 954-356-4526, Twitter @MiriamValverde
At a glance: Mermaids
Salary: Ranges, could be $500 or $2,000 based on where they're contracted. Can get booked for private parties, films, photo shoots, or as is the local case, The Wreck Bar. The bar declined to disclose how much it pays them. Compensation also may depend on venue, water temperatures.
Performers get paid, apprentices don't. What the apprentices get is the training for free from Duran-Anderson.
Benefits/retirement benefits: None. They work as freelancers.
Job requirement: Lots of training -- both in swimming and out-of-the-pool workouts. Helps if they have acting and dance backgrounds. Several performers are belly dancers or have some other dance training.
Typical age: 20s to 40s.
Costume cost: Duran-Anderson covers the cost of the outfits. The tails' prices vary on how elaborate they are. They vary from $200 to "thousands." Shell tops: from $50 to more than $100.
Makeup: The waterproof kind that can be found at local beauty stores, though some performers order customized makeup. It's up to them. Performers provide their own makeup.
Full-time or part-time: For Duran-Anderson, this is her full-time job, because she also gets booked for other events -- private parties, films and such. But for the other mermaids, it's just a supplement. They have other jobs, some as belly dancers or other type of entertainment job.
"They do it because they enjoy being able to do it," Duran-Anderson said. "It's like any other artistic form, this is art and some people just want to practice the art. Without an outlet to do it, it's difficult."