Aqua Babes (1956)

• 65%
• 1956
• Documentary
• Ernest Corts

Having received her training at the Royal Academy of Physical Education in Stockholm, Lissa Bengston now teaches swimming in California. She teaches children as young as three and four in a step by step method. The first step in to get the children comfortable with the overhead arm motions of the crawl, she holding their legs so as not to thrash them around. In the process, the children learn the natural breathing rhythms associated with being under the water. The next step has the children learning to kick with their legs, holding their hands in a stationery position above their heads. This step is to demonstrate that the arms alone and the legs alone are enough to propel them and keep them afloat in the water. This teaching method makes the children feel at home in the water, and not to be afraid of it. A key to Lissa's method is to ensure the children are having fun, which is obvious by their eagerness to get back into the water time after time.