Singing mermaids and sirens of the sea: gender, exoticism, and the music of water ballet

The sport artistic swimming, originally known as water ballet, has historically featured women performers. Water ballet was popular across the United States as an athletic and creative endeavor for women, however, the largest and most influential productions were those created by men in the 1930s through 1950s. Shows like the Billy Rose Aquacades and the Minneapolis Aqua Follies could seat nearly 7000 in the audience at each performance. Likewise, the sixteen “aqua-musical” films starring Esther Williams were seen by millions of Americans. This dissertation provides new knowledge of water ballet’s historical practices through examination of the music used in live and film performances in the first half of the twentieth century. Although many of the female performers were world champions and Olympic medalists, the accompanying music objectified and exoticized them. The music of water ballet helped to suppress the voices of these women by placing them in a fantasy space where they could be objects of desire, seen and not heard, as was typical of the period. Thus, the music justified the male gaze through catering to the male ear, reverberating the male voice, and perpetuating patriarchy. Despite the labor of countless women, early water ballet ultimately served the purposes of men.