When I first learned I would be enrolling in mermaid school, my biggest fear was that I wouldn’t be in shape enough to be a mermaid and wouldn’t have the ab muscles to be able to stay afloat. I was afraid I would sink. As it turns out, I wasn’t in shape enough to be a mermaid (at least not professionally), but I didn’t sink. And I had a lot of fun! It’s actually a lot easier to swim with a mermaid tail than you would think.
The lesson my friend and I took was with the largest mermaid school in the world, AquaMermaid, and was taught by Mermaid Alesha, who introduced herself as—no joke—a “professional mermaid.” Apparently being a mermaid is an actual career option (Um. How did my high school guidance counselor fail to mention this?) and there are approximately 1,000 professional mermaids living across the US and several that live and work in Las Vegas. When not teaching, Alesha appears at events and parties. She’s even gotten paid to swim in the giant aquarium at the Silverton Resort and Casino. Now how’s that for a fun job?!
Mermaid classes are less about “how to be a mermaid,” and more about learning how to swim with a tail and getting a good work out. It was like a swimming fitness class but instead of water aerobics and lap swimming, you practice rolling, swim through hula hoops and dive to the bottom to fetch fish toys.
The video above is some clips of my friend and I swimming. Thank you to our teacher, Mermaid Alesha, for offering to film us (video typically isn’t included with the class).
Bottom Line: A little cheesy but a lot of fun! I recommend taking a mermaid class in Las Vegas if you’re looking for something unique to do with friends. AquaMermaid offers packages for bachelorette parties as well as kids birthday parties.
