[light chatter, laughter]
Smile!
[dramatic music plays]
[children chattering]
[children exclaiming]
[music ends]
Oh my God.
[groans in pain]
[moans softly]
We checked the pH.
Did the pH get changed?
[woman] Chase down the pool guy. Make sure he didn't put too much chlorine.
- Open. Open more. - [woman] Force your eye open.
How do we find an eye wash station?
[moaning, whimpering]
[whimpering groans]
Ah... fuck!
[groans, screams]
- ["Black Sea" by Natasha Blume plays] - ♪ Come down to the Black Sea ♪
♪ Swimming with me ♪
♪ Ah-ooh-ooh ♪
♪ Ooh-ooh ♪
♪ Come down to the Black Sea ♪
♪ Swimming with me ♪
♪ Ah-ooh-ooh ♪
♪ Go down with me, fall with me ♪
♪ Let's make it worth it ♪
♪ Ah-ooh-ooh ♪
♪ You rise, I fall ♪
♪ I stand, you crawl ♪
♪ You twist, I turn ♪
♪ Who's the first to burn? ♪
♪ You sit and stay ♪
♪ I don't obey ♪
♪ Where do we land? ♪
♪ In the Black Sea ♪
♪ Ooh-ooh ♪
♪ In the Black Sea ♪
♪ Where do we land? ♪
♪ In the Black Sea ♪
[slow, percussive music playing]
Twenty years ago, I was the first professional
freelance mermaid in the world.
[cameras clicking]
Now, there's thousands around the world.
[upbeat percussive music playing]
[man 1] Mermaiding is growing at an exponential rate.
[woman 1] This is a half-billion-dollar industry.
[cheering]
There are pageants, conventions.
There are competitions, auditions, shows.
There is mermaiding going on probably in your own backyard
if you know where to find it.
[light clapping]
[crowd exclaims]
The thing that frustrates me about the public perception
of professional mermaids is that we're just playing dress-up.
You're gonna invest thousands of dollars in the equipment,
hundreds of hours of time in the training,
and your first gig might pay $100.
[light clapping]
[whale call echoes]
At its core, mermaiding is a danger art.
[Hannah] Holding your breath, blurry vision, dangerous animals,
ocean currents, being so cold all the time. [chuckles]
[woman 1] I get emails from people telling me
they want to be a professional mermaid, and my first thought is,
"Oh, you have no idea what you're getting yourself into."
♪ Beautiful dreamer ♪
♪ Wake unto me ♪
♪ Starlight and dewdrops Are waiting for thee ♪
♪ For thee ♪
[mermaid 1] Being a full-time professional mermaid is a rare thing.
I think I'm one of the few who actually get to do something like this.
And while it definitely is a dream job, it is hard.
[mermaid 2] It takes more than a costume to become a mermaid.
You need to have amazing swimming skills, breath-hold skills, personality skills.
You have to have a specific look.
[mermaid 1] If you train hard, and you're good enough,
and you nail one of these auditions, yeah, you could get a job at an aquarium.
There's venues and jobs available.
But for every opening, there are thousands of mermaids applying.
[tense music builds slowly]
[whimsical music playing]
[Sparkles] I am in Arkansas.
And unfortunately, in Arkansas,
I'm just shit out of luck when it comes to being a mermaid here.
Really doing what I want to do, and that is be an underwater performer.
We're reaching. Let's go here. Four sets.
Three!
[Sparkles] I'm always looking for more ways to grow as a mermaid.
And I can't really grow much as a mermaid in Arkansas
'cause I feel like I'm trapped in this box.
I'm a landlocked mermaid.
["Chica Mexica" playing]
As far as I know, I was the only Arkansas mermaid.
Until I met Mermaid Pixi.
Now, how do I make a bigger splash?
'Cause it's like, I know I can do the headstand, but...
[Sparkles] Pixi and I have developed a really great mermaid friendship.
- Sorry! - [both laughing]
We call each other "seasters." [chuckles]
And together we do whatever we can to mermaid.
We have four inches. I didn't think it'd be this full.
I know.
Jog with that.
[Sparkles] Most pools do not allow mermaid tails.
They see it as a safety issue.
But there is this one pool that occasionally lets us swim
in this little corner while they're doing water aerobics classes.
[instructor] Imagine your midsection is a washcloth.
- Three! - [women exclaim]
[Sparkles] You know, we take what we can get.
[song fades out]
[bell dings]
[indistinct chatter]
[Sparkles] I was probably around 11,
and, uh, my stepdad at the time,
he said to me,
"You know, there's this place in Florida called Weeki Wachee Springs
where they have mermaid shows."
And the moment he said the words "mermaid shows,"
it just hit me like a ton of bricks.
Mermaid shows?
Wait, I could potentially grow up and get paid to be a mermaid?
That's a job?
Best job I ever had.
["I Tried Not to Cry" playing]
[Arlene] Where do I start? Fairy tale.
♪ I tried not to cry ♪
I wanted to be a mermaid. I got my wish.
I was a Weeki Wachee mermaid from 1967 to 1968.
♪ I cry, cry, cry ♪
[song ends]
[gentle music plays]
If I could do it again, I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Because Weeki Wachee
is one of the most magical places on the face of this Earth.
["When You Are Near Me" playing]
[woman 2] When you drive to Weeki Wachee, they've got all those mermaids out front,
and all those big flagpoles, and then there's the big statue
with the Adagio on top, and it's just like... [gasps]
"What is this place?"
[male narrator] Fed by a huge underwater spring,
Weeki Wachee has the largest underwater theater in the world.
Millions of people enjoy the fascinating beauty
of this submerged theater wonderland
at Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida's underwater Grand Canyon.
"Weeki Wachee" means "winding water."
Weeki Wachee was a huge spring
just out in the middle of nowhere.
[Crystal] And that water coming up out of there
is so pristine and pure and ancient.
It's like being in the womb of Mother Earth.
[bubbles roiling]
There is something magical, absolutely magical about that water.
[enchanting music playing]
[Barbara] I went in and saw the show,
and I was just blown away.
And I knew I had to do it.
I walked into Weeki Wachee as a tourist.
I walked out of Weeki Wachee at 13 as a transformed...
"Get out of my way. I don't know how I'm gonna do that,
but it's gonna happen."
[exciting music playing]
[Crystal] I was 17 years old.
And, at that time, a girl's place was to be a wife and a mother.
We were outside the box.
We were mermaids before it was "the thing" to be a mermaid.
We were the dream of the little girl.
To me there was just nothing else like it. I get goose bumps just talking about it
'cause it's just really so very special to me.
Why do I need geometry? I'm gonna be a mermaid.
[music ends]
[Arlene] I would do anything to be able to go back into that fairy tale.
[tense music builds slowly]
[upbeat music plays]
[Ché] I'm Mermaid Chè Monique. I am a mermaid model
and the founder of the Society of Fat Mermaids,
which is a size-inclusive community designed to celebrate fat bodies.
Normally when I'm in a merspace, people are really excited to see me.
Everybody's so pretty!
Like, it's not uncommon for people to cry when they meet me.
Excuse me...
Are you Chè Monique?
[Ché] I am.
My family told me that there was no such thing as a fat mermaid.
[Ché] We know that's not true.
I know!
I follow you on TikTok, Instagram. It's an honor to meet you.
[Ché] Oh, thank you!
You just make it okay for me to be me.
- [Ché] Oh. - And I love you for that. Can I hug you?
[Ché] Absolutely! Thank you so much!
- [fan] Thank you. - [Ché] You're so sweet.
I do a lot of, like, what I call mertivational videos,
where I might go on TikTok and be like...
I love you all.
I... love how dedicated we all are
to making the larger world
and our merworld a safe and magical place for each other.
These merjobs require so much of you.
Like, from training to just, like, the physical demand.
And I've been working on, like, my mermaid push-ups,
doing tricep dips, and doing everything I can,
because I would love to join the Circus Siren Pod.
They are like this elite mermaid performance troupe.
As a whole, they're intimidating.
I used to call them the mean girl mermaids.
I decided, "If I'm going to be one, I'd better stop calling them that."
They kinda just protect their brand in a way,
and part of their brand is that they are, like, exclusive and elite.
But, like, they kind of are.
[tense music builds slowly]
[folksy guitar music plays]
I've always really railed against the concept of being elite,
and yet it seems to have happened anyway. [chuckling] Whether I want it or not.
I think what makes us different is just that we really care about the art form
and what artistry and magic we're putting into the world.
My performers are more about creating a world
the public's not gonna get to experience anywhere else
than about the personal wish fulfillment of being mermaids.
The reality of mermaiding is it's really physically demanding,
and it takes years of training to do this properly.
When you mermaid professionally,
you are weighed down by the tail and the water.
You are unable to breathe.
You are blind underwater. You're deaf underwater.
And your job is to make it look easy and magical.
- I thought that was pretty excellent. - Well, thank you.
[Morgana] Most people who get into professional mermaiding are working
one to two other jobs to support just the entry ramp into mermaiding.
Shello!
[woman 4] Oh, Mother.
- Shello. Shello. - [background laughter]
[Morgana] It's only every couple of years that we actually do auditions.
If I had the work, I'd hire all of them. I want everyone to live this dream,
but I only have so many clients and so many tanks to fill.
All right, welcome to our auditions!
[light cheering]
Congratulations on making it this far. There were 54 applicants,
uh, and less than 20 of you got invited to audition.
It was already some fierce competition,
and I'm really excited to see what all you guys can do.
Who knows the first rule of my company?
- [woman 5] No dead mermaids. - No dead mermaids.
[light laughter]
The first half is gonna be a lot of just exertion,
and, I'm going to be honest, to wear you out a bit.
What we do is pretty hard.
I want to see that we've got the endurance built up to get through it.
All right, guys, you can go ahead and get in your tail, and get in the pool.
[rapid percussive music plays]
Everybody in the deep end. We're treading water.
This is one of the most dangerous, difficult art forms I've ever done.
Here's what we're gonna be doing this time. Backflip down the wall,
underwater return. All right, let's see it.
At the level we're doing, the depths we're doing it at,
it takes an incredible amount of skill, an incredible amount of training.
This is a longer combination. It's a three-skill combination.
What I want is from the deep end,
gonna do a pencil dive down, so vertical entry,
then I want a front flip and barrel roll as you surface.
All right, when you surface, you're gonna put your hands on the side of the pool,
and you're gonna lift up and get your butt on the side of the pool.
Other side. Very nice. Thank you so much, number two.
All right.
Thank you.
[mermaids clapping]
You can go ahead and de-tail, dry off, warm up.
We're gonna meet and discuss our observations.
I would suggest maybe doing weightlifting or something else
to build the muscle and the endurance.
I think it's mostly just strength-building and polish.
Your backstroke-backflip-return was a little rough.
- Okay. - You got through it.
Wait. Is that the time I hit my face against the wall?
- No, that was a different time. - Okay.
The biggest concern is being able to lift yourself out of the pool.
It's a strength and practice thing, but for us, it's a safety thing
'cause you have to be able to get out of the tank under your own power.
[light instrumental music playing]
Mermaid tail-making is still very much a cottage industry.
And people get very loyal to their tail-makers.
There's even entire performance pods where they specifically only ever use
this tail-maker or that tail-maker, and that's part of their look.
Three of the bigger companies out there are Merbella, MerNation, and Mertailor.
And Mertailor was actually one of my earlier inspirations.
I remember before I bought my first mermaid tail,
looking at Mertailor's photos and being like,
"One day... One day I will afford that kind of tail,
and I will go to that artist, and I'm going to get my tail."
[tense music builds slowly]
[chill music playing]
[Eric] I am Eric Ducharme. Also known as the Mertailor.
I would love to be the biggest tail-maker in the entire world.
I feel there's a sense of creating the industry.
[cameras clicking]
And I want to see Mertailor on top.
And be like, "Wow, Mertailor."
"Mermaid tail, Mertailor. Mermaid tail, Mertailor."
I want to see that.
[sprayer hissing]
[dramatic music playing]
I will never forget my first visit to Weeki Wachee.
I was sitting in the underwater theater.
The hues of blue just started trickling in,
and all of a sudden...
[shimmering tones]
[enchanting music playing]
I just was so captivated at that moment.
And then this enchanting mermaid just swam by and stopped, blew a kiss,
and then more mermaids appear.
And that was the ta-da moment.
[bubbles roiling]
That was the moment where
I became the Mertailor.
I was obsessed with Weeki Wachee Springs.
I wanted to be there all the time.
Mermaids became my entire life at a really young age.
Growing up, Eric had a lot of challenges.
[Eric] I was a very artistic child.
[Candy] We realized early on that Eric had Tourette's syndrome.
[Eric] Classmates were very rude, cruel, judgmental.
I didn't have a lot of friends. I just stayed away from people.
[Candy] By about four or five,
he was wrapping his legs up with fabric of some sort.
Then it became plastic bags and tape.
[Eric] As the years went by,
I started to get to know the mermaids
through standing in the theater and talking to them.
It's like, "Oh, Eric's here again."
He was always hanging out with us older girls.
And it was sweet, and we certainly took him in.
He'd be there when we were choreographing all of our numbers.
[Eric] And I really wanted a tail. I really wanted a tail.
I met Barbara Wynns. She was the mermaid queen.
The first time I met Eric, I was sitting in the back of the theater.
He walks up beside me and he's sitting there going,
"Miss Barbara, can I have a tail?" And I'm like, "What?"
[Eric] And I remember there was a destroyed tail that had no zipper.
I went to the scrap piles, grabbed it out, and I said,
"Put this in your backpack. And don't you ever bring it back."
[Eric] And I was just beyond thrilled.
Brought it home, fixed it up, and that became the tail.
That's just how it started.
When I had the ability to sew and make tails,
I would bring them for the girls.
They would put on the tails and wear them during the show,
and they would bring them back to me.
Then at 16, I was offered a position in the underwater theater to be a performer.
That was unheard of because you had to be 18 years old
to be a performer at Weeki Wachee.
[uplifting music playing]
I know I've watched this boy just evolve.
And see this brilliance come out,
and to see how calm his body gets when he's in control.
He's totally in command of his body and of the Tourette's.
You... You would never know.
[Sparkles] At a very young age, I started doing research on
how do I start this path.
How do I become a Weeki Wachee mermaid?
So, I emailed them directly.
They never replied to me.
And ultimately, eventually, it evolved past just Weeki Wachee.
It became more of a personal career path that I dream of.
[knocking at door]
- Hey! - Hey. Thank you so much for doing this.
[man] Yeah, totally.
[Sparkles] Okay, so here's your pirate hat.
I have your little bag of pirate loot here.
[man] Some doubloons.
You can give that away to kids freely if they approach you.
- Oh! - [Sparkles] Oh, wait.
- The handle just snapped off. - [Sparkles] Dang it!
That's gonna make it really hard.
- [pensive music plays] - [Sparkles grunts]
[Sparkles] As a mermaid in Arkansas,
there's really just not much work here for me.
But whenever I really put myself out there,
I can get party gigs.
But they don't really pay the bills.
This is where it gets tricky. We've arrived a little late,
and I'm already seeing kids, and I really don't like them to see me
before I get my tail on.
[children squealing]
[girl] Over here!
[children chattering]
[Sparkles] So you can pull the zipper up by using the string.
Once the zipper is all the way to the top,
you want to tuck... this back into the tail, okay?
Okay.
All right.
I got the string right here.
Here.
- [Sparkles] Oh no, did it break? - Yeah.
[Sparkles groans] Why is everything breaking today? I'll figure it out.
[man] No, like, it came off the zipper. Like, um, the zipper broke on one side.
[Sparkles gasps] Shut up.
[man] No, like, seriously.
[Sparkles] No... way.
[sighs]
[children chattering]
[Sparkles] There's no way to fix that.
Are you kidding me right now?
[man] You live 15 minutes away.
I can run home... run to your place and grab another one.
[sighs]
- [keys jangling] - You're gonna need my house key.
- Oh my God. This is horrible. - [man] Okay, here. I'll run, real quick.
- I'll be back. - [sighs]
[sighs deeply]
I don't know what she's doing.
Um...
It looks like she's kind of stressed out.
Mermaid lesson one thousand, one million, gazillion.
Always bring an extra tail to a paid gig.
Always.
- [kids] Mermaid, mermaid, mermaid! - I found another one.
Oh my gosh. All these kids are gonna leave.
They're gonna leave before the mermaid comes out.
It's broken. I can't... I can't wear it. And I can't go out there without the tail.
Without the tail, I'm just a girl in a wig and some leggings.
[gentle music playing]
I always wanted to be a mermaid.
Though it wasn't easy for me growing up.
My mom and dad divorced when I was just a baby,
and my dad went into prison when I was pretty young.
The weight of the world can be so intense.
You know, day-to-day life,
and Mermaid Sparkles is an escape from all that.
It really makes me feel like I'm making a difference in the world somehow.
I feel like I have purpose.
I feel like a ray of sunshine.
[kids] Mermaid, mermaid, mermaid!
All right.
Oh my God. Thank God. Thank God.
[man] Here we go.
[tail zipping up]
Alrighty, y'all, are we ready to see Sparkles the Mermaid come out?
[kids cheering]
Y'all got to make sure she can hear you. Can she hear you? Come on!
Make sure she can hear you. There we go.
All right.
- [Sparkles] Careful. - Yep.
[Sparkles] Duck.
Duck down. There we go.
Shello!
You look even prettier!
[Sparkles] Oh my goodness! Thank you!
[overlapping excited chatter]
["Am I Dreaming?" playing]
Well, are we ready to swim?
Yeah!
♪ Am I Dreaming? ♪
- ♪ Dreaming ♪ - That is a pearl.
Do you know pearls are made in clams?
[song continues]
[Sparkles] When I see all the children's smiling faces
and just the way their eyes light up, it really is a special experience.
Special experiences don't pay the bills though.
So if I really want to be a professional mermaid and pursue this,
I may just... have to move.
♪ Dreaming ♪
[song fades out]
[Eric] Weeki Wachee was really having a hard time financially.
And then the state came in and swooped in and bought it.
When the state came, they're like, "You can't do this. It's unsafe."
"You can't do that. It's unsafe."
For example, there's an underwater tube
that the performers would jump in to enter in and out of the theater.
And it went down 16 feet, and then it went out 60 feet.
[woman 6 chuckling] I hated that tunnel.
And it teaches you to face your fear.
Because I really did not like small spaces.
[Arlene] So I dropped down and went into one of the airlocks,
which is basically a metal box upside down with compressed air being pumped in.
Well... something went wrong with the compressor during the night.
So, when we got in there, we both decided
it was time for us to head for the surface,
'cause there wasn't any air to be had down there.
It was really tough.
[male narrator] Anthea prepares her student for the deep dive
to the bottom of the spring 117 feet below the surface.
Equal to the height of a ten-story building.
Inhaling air from the hose, and then forcing air into the mask
to balance the increasing pressure on their ears.
[Jo] The only reason I left Weeki Wachee
was because I kept having nose and ear infections,
and I was spending too much time at the doctor's office.
Basically, it was too dangerous for me to continue.
If you can't clear your ears,
you blow all the blood vessels in your face.
I've had multiple ear infections, multiple sinus infections,
probably swam at times that sinus-wise I probably shouldn't have.
[Eric] I came down with a really severe sinus infection,
and I was told by management at Weeki Wachee
that if I decided not to come into work,
I would be fired no matter what doctor said.
So my dad called up, talked to my boss,
then my dad was like, "Fine. Well, he's done."
So my dad essentially resigned for me.
So I was never fired from Weeki Wachee. I quit.
And I remember crying
because I didn't think my time at Weeki Wachee was done,
but it was done.
[Candy] And he was not happy.
He was very sad.
[Eric] There is absolutely nothing else in the world
like swimming in Weeki Wachee.
The springs are magical.
They're pristine.
And you can say that you don't have
the desire to go back,
but deep down inside,
the feeling of swimming in the springs and performing
will always be there in the pit of your heart.
Always.
[Candy] Sometimes we can't get back those special things.
And maybe that's why he works so hard.
To try to get back what he had there.
Or better.
[Eric] Even before I was a teenager and working at Weeki Wachee,
I was always trying to figure out how I could have my own
world of Weeki Wachee.
So I was always trying to figure out how Eric could have his own mermaid show.
Two years ago, we bought this building.
It had been a furniture store for the last 25 years.
You know, one might say,
"How are you gonna turn that metal building into this magical oasis?"
And my answer would be like, "Watch me."
[upbeat percussive music playing]
The back will be production.
The front's going to be an educational aquarium.
And eventually, we're gonna put a tank and do mermaid shows.
[Candy] I can tell Eric's getting antsy.
He's ready for the next thing.
And the next thing is... a tank.
- [chime dings] - [slow, tense music plays]
[Candy] It is really scary because this is a very expensive project.
This tank is well over $100,000.
Last night he said, "I've been waiting for so long
for this to finally happen."
It's everything to him.
Ever since I met him, that's all he's ever dreamed about,
was just being able to have that tank to do shows.
We hadn't done a dry run to take this building apart yet.
[power tools whirring]
I'm panicking that we are not gonna be able to get the tank in the building.
But what I was thinking of most
was how Eric would feel
if this didn't go the way it was supposed to go.
[Eric shouts]
[worker 1] Done!
All right.
Oh, no, they're not gonna roll it like that.
[worker 2] Here. For now, go here.
What about here, bub?
- Is it gonna make it? - [worker 2] Yes.
- Take it down a bit. - [worker 3] I had to twist the other one.
Go straight for now. Get that other one in here.
- We'll have to pick it up again. - [worker 3] All right.
When they finally got it into the building,
it fit perfectly.
Got it lined up into the space on the wall.
[cheerful music playing]
[Eric] I asked Barbara if she'd come.
I wanted her to be part of it. I wanted her to be there.
She was always at Weeki Wachee,
and I wanted her to be part of the aquarium.
You know, she got me into the water.
[Eric laughing]
[indistinct chatter]
I didn't think it was gonna be big enough.
- What? - I didn't think it'd be big enough.
- I know. I'm gonna send it back. - You can do pin rolls in there.
I'm gonna send it back and get a bigger one.
- You what? - [chuckling]
[Eric] She was the mermaid queen.
She still loves Weeki Wachee deep inside.
- Okay, now I might cry with you. - [tearfully] I know.
[Eric] I think this is big.
- [woman 7] I think it's big too. - [Eric] It's ample space.
- [woman 7] I love it. - [Eric] It's ample space.
- [woman 7] I'm so excited! - Okay, water now. [chuckles]
[Candy] It was a beautiful moment.
It was an exciting moment.
You did good.
You did good. I'm proud of you, boy.
My little seven-year-old merman.
"Miss Barbara, you got a tail I could have?"
I think the person that's gonna be in that tank
that first day is gonna be that little you.
- Probably. - Your little mini-me.
The excitement's getting there. It's not 100%. There's no water yet.
Till tonight.
[calming music plays]
[Eric] All of these dreams as a child are just unfolding.
And now, I want to create my own world of mermaids.
I want to create the best underwater performances ever.
Oh my gosh.
- That tank is so gorgeous. - It's beautiful.
I like the little stingray theme thing that they've got going on.
[Sparkles] How many gallons did we say that was?
[Pixi] Thirteen thousand gallons of Caribbean salt water.
[Sparkles] That is epic!
Oh...
If I could live under there, I'd never leave.
[both chuckle]
[Sparkles] Eric the Mertailor is huge in the mermaid community.
He's so epic.
He is opening up his own mermaid aquarium
where he's going to be throwing his own mermaid shows.
And he's holding auditions.
[exhales]
[calm, gentle music plays]
And I'm going for it.
I've never swam in a tank before, and I'm really, really, really excited.
There are mermaids coming from all around the country to these auditions.
Everyone wants to be a Mertailor mermaid.
So the competition is going to be really stiff.
[calm, gentle music continues]
[pensive music playing]
[Eric] Good morning, everybody. My name is Eric.
I'm really excited to have you all here today.
I've waited 15 years for this very moment
to audition the first group of people to be performers for Mertailor.
Today's auditions have nothing to do with mermaid tails.
It has to do with your individual comfortability in the water.
When I see you underwater,
if I feel like I have a connection through the window,
then that's how I choose.
If you're in the water and I find that you're freaking out,
I'm gonna ask you to get out of the water,
and at that time your audition will be over,
and then you'll be asked to leave the premises. Okay?
- All right. You guys ready? - Yes.
[pensive music intensifies]
Anybody been in a tank before?
- Anybody? - No.
- So this is everybody's first? - Yep.
[spectator] Does anyone know how many spots they're hiring for?
- [mermaid 3] I have no clue. - It's like The Mermaid Games.
May the best fish win!
[Eric] All right.
Let's send in the first three individuals.
[woman 7] All right, one, two, and three...
Oh, it's also salt water too, so way different.
[Eric] I want you to try it one more time.
Keep that back leg towards the back of the tank, bent.
Bent. Straight, not bent.
When you do this right, you should be in excruciating pain.
[Eric on PA] You have two minutes if your number's on the tank.
I'm Tristan.
I'm Sparkles.
- Sparkles? - Yes.
- I think I follow you on Instagram. - Oh, you do?
- What's your merman name? - Red River Merman.
I noticed when the aquarium opened in January,
that he said there were gonna be auditions.
So, then very quickly, I zeroed in on every video
of Eric doing underwater ballet,
and then I just, like, blasted the internet and my Instagram
with, like, copying him, like, literally move for move,
just, like, trying to give him a résumé, you know, every time.
And, uh, every time he likes one of my videos,
it lights my world up.
I'm the dude with all the ballet videos.
Okay. Aw... Do you actually dance ballet?
- [Tristan] Yeah. - [Sparkles] Epic.
- [woman 7] Dolphin is a straight leg. - This is the one where I lock my knees.
- [woman 7] All the way around. - All the way around.
[woman 7] Pinwheel, same thing, all the way around.
Great job.
Try it again. Keep your legs together.
Try to be relaxed and don't look like a duck. [chuckles]
This is not gonna work.
We can send in the next group. That would be fantastic.
She just lost a nail.
The fish are trying to eat it.
Hey, Chelsea. Do you see the nail that's floating?
The parrotfish. One of the parrotfish have it.
He spit it out. Thank you.
- This can't be real life. - [Sparkles] I know.
About to jump in the tank for the first time ever!
I don't know whether to cry or laugh or melt.
[Tristan] I'm more nervous about the Weeki Wachee mermaid.
She's, like, mermaid royalty.
[Sparkles] Oh, I know.
Perfect. Perfect.
[woman 8] Oh, I love her arms.
Oh, did you see her turn?
Know how many people can't turn in the water?
[Eric] All right, ladies, thank you so much.
We're gonna bring in the next two.
[pensive music continues]
[Sparkles] This is literally my wildest dream.
Let's see what you got.
["Am I Dreaming?" plays]
♪ Am I dreaming? ♪
♪ Dreaming ♪
♪ 'Cause I'm sitting on a cloud Can't believe my life ♪
♪ If this is a dream Please don't wake me up ♪
♪ Am I dreaming? ♪
♪ Dreaming ♪
[singer vocalizing]
♪ Dreaming ♪
[song fades out]