Many a child has dreamt of becoming a mermaid. And now it is indeed possible to be one. In fact, you can even make being a mermaid your profession.
Still not convinced?
Well, if you met Chan Yushi, you’ll finally understand how mermaids don’t only live in fairy tales and movies, but actually exist in the flesh in Malaysia.
Yushi is a full-time mermaid and she has been performing for nearly four years now at Sunway Lagoon.
Besides swishing her magnificent tail and flashing her brilliant smile much to the amusement of thrilled children and adults, Yushi also teaches aspiring mermaids how to swim gracefully like her.
The first step to becoming a mermaid is putting on the attire. Truth be told, wearing the monofin, which is the mermaid’s “shoe”, as well as getting into the swimsuit is quite a difficult exercise in itself.
Be prepared for a lot of huffing and puffing and heaving and sighing before you’re done. But once you are in it, it is not uncomfortable or restricting.
To become a mermaid, you would need to have basic swimming skills because you have to do dolphin kicks. It is also imperative to know and follow the safety measures of swimming.
The monofin and the mermaid suit is quite heavy to swim in. Hence only children above the age of seven and who are already strong swimmers are allowed to take the course.
The course spans about six to ten lessons during which you learn the dance moves and the performance techniques underwater.
Be prepared for minor accidents too, although these are rare – like the time a mermaid was accidentally hit in the face and slightly injured by a turtle as she was swimming around in the aquarium. Well, maybe the turtle was mesmerised by the mermaid and just wanted to swim along with her.
The mermaid’s costume consisting of the monofin and swimsuit is quite expensive, coming in at around RM1,000 combined.
The mermaid course meanwhile varies between RM400 to RM700 depending on the kind of course you sign-up for, the duration and your age.
If your child has always harboured the dream of becoming a mermaid, at least you now know you have the option of helping make her dreams come true.
If she doesn’t know how to swim, or is afraid of the water, why not take her for a mermaid performance then which is equally thrilling.
Yushi and her team make it a point never to change out of their costumes in front of the children after their performance, simply because it’s important to keep the fantasy of mermaids alive in the children’s minds.
The mermaid experience is thrilling whether your child is taking lessons on how to become a mermaid or watching the mermaid’s glide, circle and somersault underwater during their performances.
Besides affording some solid parent-children bonding, the entire performance is just as fantastical for the adults too.
Watch Erika learning the finer details of being a mermaid in her video on Instagram.
Erika Peres is a mother of two energetic boys. She is an entrepreneur who has founded and run companies in South America and Asia and is currently a director at multiple companies. With a passion for sports and lifestyle, she has created a number of activity programmes for children. She is a regular contributor to magazines and blogs.
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