The River City Magnolias practice a pinwheel formation at Randolph Pool.
Members of the River City Magnolias, the area’s amateur water ballet club, are happy to be together again at Richmond’s Swansboro pool, practicing log rolls, oysters and pinwheels, moving in and out of formation, sometimes in unison, sometimes in ripples, but always with intention and always in motion.
The team is smaller this year than its usual size of 12 to 15, but that hasn’t dampened members’ enthusiasm.
“My happiest memories as a child growing up are in the pool,” says Mindy VanDevelder, one of the team’s two volunteer managers. “I’m playing with friends, and I get to do it as an adult.”
Formed in 2013, the group is open to all, regardless of age or (in)experience, and it follows the tradition of Esther Williams, a swimming champion turned Hollywood star whose movies featured water ballet in the 1940s and ’50s. The flowing, graceful Williams style is very different from the “artistic” swimming included in the Olympics, which employs a rigorous structure, often including long stretches underwater and athletic feats including tosses and lifts.
Ingrid Schatz, who joined in the Magnolias’ second month, says the differences between the two types of synchronized swimming are like comparing gymnastic floor routines to gymnastic dancing. “What we do is not technically as difficult as the Olympic-style swimming,” she says. “[Competitive synchronized swimmers] train eight hours a day; they do conditioning. We’re having fun, wearing pretty suits and retro caps, and making pretty float patterns.”
How long does a Magnolia have to be able to hold her breath? “We stop when we get the most complaints,” VanDevelder says, laughing.
Co-manager Jessica Filson says routine adjustments to choreography are, well, routine.
“In the original ending of [this year’s routine], there was a progression of moves in there that nobody could do,” she says. “We were like, ‘OK, we’re going to put an extra move in the middle so we can come up and get a breath.’ We’re all very happy about that.”
Volunteer coach Laura Soles began swimming water ballet while a student at Lynchburg College and, decades later, competes along with two other Magnolias as a member of the DC Synchromasters, a synchronized swim team based in the nation’s capital. In the beginning, Soles taught the Magnolias the techniques and skills the team needed; now she provides an experienced eye from the pool deck as the swimmers execute their moves.
“These women are amazing,” Soles says. “They have a routine; they set up the [performance] calendar in the spring; they do not have any underwater sound. Most of these women have never done synchro before, and it amazes me [they] can adapt so quickly to a new location or count for a performance.”
And to be clear, Soles says, synchronized swimming is an athletic pursuit. “It’s really good exercise,” she says. “A lot of core training is needed to be upside-down and vertical. Most people watch [performances] and think, ‘Oh, no big deal; that’s not hard,’ then they try it and think, ‘Oh, dear, I’m gonna drown.’ ”
Schatz was drawn to the Magnolias because, in 2013, she was still relatively new to Richmond. Then a mom of two preschoolers — now a mom to three, ages 11, 9 and 3 — she was looking for an activity where she could meet people.
“I wanted something that was more interesting than going to the gym all the time,” she says. “I felt like my options were roller derby or nothing, and I’m fond of my teeth. I found out about the [Magnolias] through a friend, and I was like, ‘Yeah, that’s where I want to go.’ ”
While the pandemic has made it hard for Schatz to remain active, she plans to return to weekly practices with the Magnolias. “Everything we do in the water is fun,” she says, adding that any fear of performing melts away once the routine begins. “It doesn’t matter if we’re all off, or if the music cuts out and we just have to keep going by counting. There is safety in numbers when you’re in that suit, all together, all dressed up, with the lipstick going. You’re part of a team; it’s not just you out there doing silly stuff by the pool.”
The River City Magnolias: (top row, from left) Lelia Graham, Laura Rich Soles, Ingrid Schatz, Mindy VanDevelder; (bottom row, from left) Jessica Filson, Marta Zoellner, Jess Bernard, Diane Brasington, Winnie Perilla Canup
Lelia Graham, a self-proclaimed “water baby,” had been swimming with Sportable, an adaptive sports club, when she joined the Magnolias in 2016. Graham, who uses a prosthetic leg, says she wanted a team experience where her physical impairment didn’t matter. “The team was very welcoming and inclusive; I didn’t feel like a lame duck,” she says. “I found my place here.”
So did mother and daughter Winnie and Elise Canup, who joined the team together in 2013. “We dared each other to go,” Winnie says, laughing. Elise adds, “I feel like I’ve always swum with my mom; this seemed like an opportunity to meet cool ladies and be in the water.”
Due to the pandemic, the Magnolias were out of the pool from March to September 2020. They returned to their twice-weekly practices last October, focusing on individual skills — or “moves” — distanced from one another, until they were able to remove lane lines and return to formations. Because the team is as much about the social aspect as the swimming, members occasionally gathered at private homes, outside, distanced and fully masked. Co-manager Filson says everyone is looking forward to the return of their “fantastic” team dinners.
In a typical summer, the Magnolias would have debuted their latest routine on Father’s Day weekend and performed at pools throughout the region — free of charge — as many as 10 times. Continued COVID restrictions prevented that usual season opener, but the team hopes to perform this summer and plans to recruit new members at its usual September meet-and-greet event, followed by a month of practices where newbies can jump in and stay if they like.
Magnolia Feivel Woetzel initially joined because she wanted to learn something new and thought her mom would “get a kick” out of seeing her perform. She planned to stay for a year but, five years later, is still in the pool. “It’s just so much fun,” she says.
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