Baltimore’s wacky community water ballet troupe, Fluid Movement, returned this past weekend with its ninth annual “synchronized swimming extravaganza,” a delightful mash-up of complex subject matter, hilarity, eccentric costumes, and athleticism. (In case you missed it, there will be repeat performances this coming weekend.) And while the all-volunteer production is, as usual, packed with parody, it also serves a serious purpose: to draw people back to Baltimore’s often-underused public spaces.

Each summer, Fluid Movement’s writing team takes a chapter of history or a literary classic and creates an original narrative. In 2007, it was War and Fleas, a dog-centric epic adapted from Tolstoy’s giant novel. This year's Jason and the Aquanauts: 20,000 Legs Over the Sea found its roots in Greek mythology but has been transformed into a satirical and even subtly political adventure. According to Joe Meduza, Fluid Movement’s producer and treasurer, this year’s plot “gently turned the theme of the quest for the mythical golden fleece into what’s currently happening with the economy, told in Fluid Movement’s glittery, over-the-top style.”

Fluid Movement began in 1999, founded by Keri Burneston, a.k.a. Trixie Little, the well-known acrobat and burlesque performer, and her collaborators, Melissa Martens and Valerie Perez-Schere. (See “Bump and Grind,” July 2009 Urbanite.) “I’ve always loved Esther Williams and couldn’t believe my luck, that someone got such a fabulous performance art thing started right in the neighborhood where I worked,” says Perez-Schere, who worked for the now-defunct Patterson Park Community Development Corporation at the time. Perez-Schere promptly joined the group and has been a writer, performer, director, producer, character, choreographer, board member, and general booster of Fluid Movement since the very first water ballet.

Now a much-larger organization of artists, actors, and community activists, Fluid Movement creates accessible and educational performances for audiences of all ages and backgrounds. And while the shows are packed with pure hilarity, the group sees Baltimore’s public pools as a community resource and attracts hundreds of new visitors to these public urban spaces. According to its mission statement, “We encourage a sincere understanding and appreciation for city life and city dwellers through our work.”

The development of a rich urban community life is evident in the physical diversity of the swimmers and actors, as well as their extraordinarily creative costumes. “Fluid Movement’s motto is ‘all are welcome,’” says Meduza. “Any shape, size, or swim skill are welcome. If you don't have the skills to do our version of synchronized swimming we will teach you. We have several people in this year’s show who don’t want to swim, and that’s fine.”

Perez-Shere echoes Menduza’s sentiments. “We have a very wacky, tacky, non-hipster, free-for-all sense of art and performance. We like to be very funny and put on shows that push boundaries but stay within the rubric of ‘family friendly.’ It's a strange balance that Fluid Movement is somehow able to strike, possibly because our shows are so collaboratively and democratically created.

“I think when you live in Baltimore for a while and learn to appreciate it in spite of its nagging problems, you develop a rather nutty sense of humor,” Perez-Shere says, “and can find inordinate joy in seeing eighty people of varying shapes and ages doing synchronized swimming in a city park pool.”

Jason and the Aquanauts: 20,000 Legs Over the Sea debuted last weekend at the Druid Hill Park pool. Shows this weekend will be held at the Patterson Park pool. If you’re looking to get wet, sit close to the pool. And if you’re inspired, the troupe is always looking for volunteers, both in and out of the water.

Perez-Schere says she has met many of her closest and dearest friends through Fluid Movement. “The sense of camaraderie, which is so vital to putting on a huge all-volunteer show like this, inevitably makes for lasting friendships,” she says. “Being in a Fluid Movement show can make you fall in love with Baltimore again. Or for the very first time.”