Florida performers have staged underwater mermaid shows since 1947

In 1947, a former Navy swim instructor named Newton Perry established an underwater theater at Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida. Unlike traditional aquariums, the audience sat in a theater built into the side of a limestone ledge, looking through thick glass into the basin of a natural spring. To perform, dancers learned to breathe from air hoses hidden among the scenery, allowing them to stay submerged for long periods while performing synchronized ballets.