When Manatees Meet Mermaids: How Aquatic Performing Arts Are Opening Up New Possibilities

As the curtain rises and young voices gasp in delight, a new form of artistic performance unfolds. In mythology, mermaids have always appeared in darkened depths — coldly beautiful and impossibly graceful — instantly capturing every eye and causing sailors to lose their way. Is the mermaid merely a childhood myth shattered by adulthood, or the continuation of a child's most cherished fantasy? Farglory Ocean Park in Hualien has launched a mermaid series at its Ocean Discovery Hall, giving visitors of all ages a glimpse into the mysterious legend of the mermaid. We sat down with Xiao Lu — founder of the Yellow Fish Studio and one of the pioneers of mermaid performance in Taiwan — to hear about the many dimensions of change she has witnessed from her unique vantage point.

From Mermaid Instructor to Performing Artist: A Shift in Mindset

If you've watched the Taiwanese underwater reality show Battle on the Underwater Runway, you'll likely remember a confident, golden-haired contestant named Xiao Lu. After earning her SSI (certification agency) mermaid instructor certification in China in 2019, she began pitching proposals to Farglory Ocean Park, hoping to bring professional mermaid performances into the park's spectacular aquarium tanks. Originally working as a microbiology specialist at Taiwan Tungs' Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital, Xiao Lu made a bold leap in 2020 — applying for an unpaid leave of absence to join Taiwan's first underwater reality show. That three-month experience became the pivotal turning point that propelled her fully into the world of mermaid performance art.

Why Farglory Ocean Park? It traces back to a part-time job Xiao Lu held there during her university years — scrubbing algae as a scuba diving work-study student. Humble as it was, that job gave her an intimate familiarity with the venue, which later made it possible for her to sustain ongoing communication and discussions with the park's management. Perhaps it was because her persistent efforts finally became impossible to ignore: in 2021, she successfully brought professional mermaid performance art into the ocean park. That same year she left her pharmaceutical job, and in November began performing full-time as a mermaid at Farglory Ocean Park. That full-time role was no accident — it was the culmination of years of deliberate practice.

Xiao Lu: "If people simply say I'm talented or lucky, it makes me feel as though all my hard work never existed. How much effort does it take to become truly capable? The footprints that no one sees don't mean they were never made — on the contrary, it is precisely the accumulation of those footprints that allows us to stand where we are today."

Freediving Is Not the Same as Mermaid Performance

Xiao Lu's journey took her from scuba diving to freediving, where she developed a deep love for the dolphin kick. She stumbled upon mermaid courses in 2017, and that encounter confirmed her passion for mermaid performance — a continuation of the dream she had always carried. The essence of mermaid performance art lies in dynamic expression: movements must be slow, beautiful, and elegant, projecting an air of effortless calm, as though the performer were born to live underwater. The greatest difference between mermaid performance and freediving is this: freediving prioritises efficiency and energy conservation, while a mermaid's equipment offers little propulsive power and adds significant resistance — the goal is flowing, rhythmic curves rather than swift, streamlined speed. In almost every way, mermaid performance is the opposite of what freediving pursues.

Performing in front of a live audience also gave Xiao Lu a deeper understanding of the gap between recreational mermaiding and professional mermaid performance. A dynamic performance demands not only strenuous movement with both legs bound together, but also expressive body control, managing hair as it fans through the water, maintaining facial composure without a mask, blowing bubbles to interact with the audience, and sustaining stability in duo and group formations — all of it unfolding live, with no opportunity to call "cut" and start again.

Wait — Is That Another Mermaid in the Show?

Farglory Ocean Park imported three nationally treasured manatees — commonly nicknamed "mermaids" — from Côte d'Ivoire in West Africa. They travelled approximately 20,921 kilometres by land and air, arriving in Hualien after nearly seventy hours of transit (further reading). Manatees carry a mysterious legend of their own: feeding primarily on seagrass and algae, they breathe with lungs just as humans do, and can hold their breath underwater for up to 7 minutes, needing only 3 seconds to surface and breathe. This behaviour is precisely what gave rise to mermaid legends among lonely sailors after long voyages at sea — just imagine a manatee surfacing with a crown of seagrass draped over its head, and you might just see a long-haired beauty yourself.

As the mermaid performers clocked more and more rehearsal hours, the young manatee — affectionately called Xiao Niu (Little Calf) — quietly began imitating their swimming style from the sidelines. Not only did his repertoire of movements grow, but he also started throwing in consecutive double-loop barrel rolls, showcasing his natural flair. These days Xiao Niu freely glides away from the pool floor and has even been known to join the mermaid performers in formation.

Beyond joining the performance, Xiao Niu has taken on the role of swimming coach. During rehearsals, when the performers swim up and down along a reference line, he will dart out horizontally to demonstrate the correct technique — swimming along the guide rope. And when the mermaids are preparing at the pool surface before a show, Xiao Niu has been spotted setting down his food, drifting calmly to the pool's edge, and patrolling the perimeter — like a seasoned floor manager reminding the mermaid princesses that showtime is almost here. Xiao Niu is clearly happier and more energetic than ever before, enthusiastically joining performer training sessions and making impromptu guest appearances mid-show.

A Curator's Shift in Operational Thinking

For any large organisation, navigating diverse opinions is inevitable — and trying to satisfy competing needs at the same time is a genuine challenge. The 2019 mermaid performance proposal met with exactly this kind of resistance: some stakeholders opposed having mermaid performers enter the tanks, fearing disruption to the fish or distress to other animals. Mermaid performance has developed relatively slowly in Taiwan, and public awareness of the art form remains limited. Suitable aquariums or large display tanks open to performance are few and far between, and Xiao Lu had no portfolio of finished work to show — only a collection of international performance videos to submit as reference material. So why did the park finally give the green light last year? Facing the compounding pressures of pandemic disruption and programme scheduling, Farglory chose to innovate: the new performance scripts incorporated environmental themes — including ocean cleanup and beach cleanup — pushing the ocean park's programming in a more forward-thinking direction and using entertainment to help the public develop a deeper understanding of the ocean.

The team introduced a marine conservation segment into the performance, using an entertaining format to communicate a serious message and shift the public's perception of the ocean.

Before the 2021 public premiere of "The Mysterious Mermaid Legend" at the Ocean Discovery Hall, the park's management reviewed the dress rehearsal — and the very first piece of feedback gave Xiao Lu an immense sense of relief. A senior manager said: "Thank you for bringing Xiao Niu back to life. We haven't seen him this excited in a long time — he looks genuinely happy." The keeper also reported that human activity in the pool appeared to have no negative impact on the manatees, and the veterinarian who reviewed the footage raised no concerns about negative emotional responses from the animals.

In addition to the existing mermaid performances, Farglory Ocean Park launched a "Mermaid Encounter Experience" activity on 1 April 2022, allowing visitors of all ages to dress up as mermaids. Xiao Lu's dream continues to unfold, the mermaid legend lives on, and what lingers most are the gasps of wonder from children watching the show — Mermaids are real! Manatees are mermaids too! I want to be a mermaid someday!

Manatee Fast Facts (Source: Farglory Ocean Park official website)

The manatees at Farglory are West African manatees, classified under the order Sirenia, family Trichechidae. They are found primarily along the western coast of Africa, and feed mainly on seagrass and algae — making them the only herbivores among marine mammals!

Like humans, manatees breathe with lungs. They can hold their breath underwater for up to 7 minutes and need only 3 seconds to surface for air. This behaviour is precisely what sparked mermaid legends among lonely sailors of old — just picture a manatee rising to the surface with seagrass draped over its head, and you can almost see a long-haired beauty. Though they must surface to breathe every 7 minutes, manatees still sleep on the seafloor, with each sleep bout lasting around 25 minutes and a total of up to 12 hours of sleep per day!

Male and female manatees are distinguished primarily by the presence of nipples — only females have mammary glands, with nipples located beneath the flippers, roughly at the equivalent of a human's armpit. When nursing, a mother manatee cradles her calf in her flippers, much like a mother holding an infant. Like humans, manatees are viviparous and give birth to one calf at a time, with a gestation period of approximately 12 to 14 months.

Farglory Ocean Park's resident manatee is named Xiao Niu. His favourite pastimes include sleeping and spinning half-circles, and he has a particular fondness for sweet potatoes and broccoli. Next time you see him putting on a show, be sure to give him a big round of applause!

Further reading:

• Exploring the Many Possibilities of Life: What Freediving Taught Me
• Farglory Ocean Park
• Farglory Ocean Park on Instagram
• Yellow Fish Studio
• Yellow Fish Studio on Instagram
• Xiao Lu's personal Instagram