Producer’s Blog: The Rhinestones Synchro Swim Team

Artistic swimming has always been one of my favorite summer Olympics sports. It’s one of the most sparkle-imbued athletic activities and I like to believe that I can burn calories just by watching all the action on television. But the movement, while extremely demanding and physically taxing, is just part of a larger whole.

Synchronized swimming is, without a doubt, a sport, but there are clearly some overarchingly creative elements, no matter what you call it. The glimmering costumes, the illustrative facial expressions, the curated song choices, the impressively waterproof make-up and hair – there’s clearly many artistic layers to what you see. So, when I learned that we have a synchronized swim team (I’m going to use “synchronized swimming” and “artistic swimming” interchangeably) right here in Cincinnati, I knew an segment on The Art Show was warranted.

The Rhinestones synchronized swimming team was founded by local arts legend Pam Kravetz and friend Carla Lamb about seven years ago. During our interview, Pam revealed that the concept came up over cocktails at one of my favorite bars in town, Longfellow. Three of their signature Shiso Painkillers later, a notion meant more as a joke at the time became the team that’s practiced weekly and performed annually at OTR’s Ziegler Pool ever since.

While the Olympics have historically had restrictions on mixed-gender teams (this may change with Spain’s Dennis Gonzalez in 2028), the Rhinestones welcome all genders! And ages! And levels of experience! The team welcomes everyone. You, me or anyone else could join this team – no questions asked (although it’s become popular enough to have its own waitlist).

I knew we’d be getting neat footage of their weekly practices at Ziegler Pool throughout the summer. As such, I knew our interview footage needed to look just as cool. I initially envisioned interviewing our subjects in an empty Ziegler Pool, but by the time I came up with that idea, the pool had already been filled for the summer. I turned to videographer Zach Kramer and station engineer Andrejs Kruza, gave them an outline of a concept, and let them have at it.

A few days later, following a wild goose chase for an empty fish tank (weirdest Slack conversation I’ve had to date), I’m called into Studio A to inspect the setup featured below.

Yes. In case you were wondering, that is a fish tank suspended by a forklift (also, say hello to production assistant Derrick Smith!), designed and rigged to create a shimmering, aquatic background behind our interviewees. During interviews, Andrejs and production facilities manager Jason Garrison traded places rhythmically slamming themselves against the forklift to keep the ripples coming (bear in mind that my interviews have been known to last an hour).

We also had a new intern on set to help us out, pictured below.

During our interviews, team coach Beth Kreimer brought some of her costumes from her days as a synchronized swimmer. On the international stage, performance themes have ranged from terracotta warriors to AC/DC to Darwin’s Theory of Evolution. I’d argue that’s what makes artistic swimming so much more fun to watch – so many elements combine to create something visually complex to take in as a viewer. While any athletic activity requires as much mental dexterity as physical, the thought that’s put into artistic swimming is on full display in every performance. Just look at Team USA’s UNDERWATER moonwalk from Paris 2024.

The concept of a “sinker” versus a “floater” is another topic that came up during the interview process. I joked about most definitely being a lifelong sinker, although it’d been a while since I stepped into a pool. I ate my words. Perhaps I’ve just become more buoyant over the years, because during subsequent underwater shoots, it was all I could do to stay underwater and get the shots I needed.

And let’s talk about the camera work. Specialty cameras exist for capturing synchronized swimming performances, none of which we have access to here at the station. Instead, we carried out some of the most varied camera work I’ve ever seen for filming The Art Show, utilizing an iPhone, a GoPro, a drone and standard cameras, with the former two inside the pool and the latter two outside.

As a result, I became acquainted with the delicate art of underwater iPhone filming via a $12 waterproof pouch we purchased online – thank goodness for AppleCare+. The first 10 minutes of using the pouch were a struggle. The encased phone would mistake waves splashing on it for human touch, making the zoom go wonky or pausing and playing the recording, and sometimes the phone wouldn’t focus when I dipped under the surface. While there were plenty of well-intentioned attempts resulting in utter failures, I was able to capture some awesome moments with my phone, some of which you’ll get to see in the segment!

And another side note: before diving into the pool to film, I agonized over the prospect of cold water. Rhinestones practices begin at 9am, which even in the summers can be pretty cold with the unpredictable temperature swings of the Midwest! Fortunately, Ziegler Pool was heated and as warm as bath water. I frankly never wanted to leave the pool even once filming was wrapped.

While this segment with the Rhinestones put our skills to the test, it was such a fun process to spend the summer capturing. I’m so excited to share this act of merging art with athleticism on the next segment on The Art Show,and I can only hope that our adventures will take me into the (heated) water again!

Nadya Ellerhorst
CET and Think^TV Producer

The segment for the Rhinestones will be available Wednesday, October 15, on our YouTube channel @theartshow-cet-ttv. The full episode of The Art Show, which also features Ohio Heritage Fellow Susan Abramovitz and Red Stewart Airfield, premieres Sunday, October 19, at 5:30pm on Think^TV16. You can also stream episodes on the PBS App. Learn more at https://www.thinktv.org/theartshow/.