BELLAIRE • MEMORIAL • RIVER OAKS • TANGLEWOOD • WEST UNIVERSITY

Finding joy in movement

By Sarah Levaro, age 16 | September 27, 2022

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FLOAT LIKE A BUTTERFLY Sarah Levaro (pictured, second from right), a junior at St. Agnes Academy, competed in artistic swimming with her teammates this summer at the 2022 USA Artistic Swimming Junior Olympics National Championship in Gainesville, Fla.

As a kid in artistic sports, I thought that artistic expression was limited to helping the audience understand a character’s feelings. At face value, this is true – but personally, I believe someone who has a true mastery of the skill conveys the emotion of their character through their own persona, adding nuance to the performance. I know this sounds complicated, but for me, movement has always been the preferred form of expression.

From dancing in my Little Mermaid costume nonstop as a baby to joining gymnastics and ballet at a young age, my parents were always looking for a creative outlet that I could use consistently. A part of me certainly did find satisfaction in flipping around and dancing with my peers but even then, something still felt off. I found my outlet in the oddly specific solution of artistic swimming, because it was such a perfect combination of artistry, athleticism, and friendship that would, unbeknownst to me, make the pool my second home for the next six years.

I started swimming with my club, the Houston SynchroStars, at around 11 years old with zero experience. As you can imagine, first-year me had priorities that definitely did not include artistic expression: what they did include, on the other hand, was staying afloat. However, my skills eventually improved and artistic expression became something I could focus on more and more.

Even now, ending my latest season with two podium finishes at the 2022 Junior Olympic Championships, I know there is much work to be done next year both inside the water and out.

Regardless of where my team trains, I know that every time we have a difficult set or workout, I will remember my first time in the water, remember the joy of movement and expression. With every competition and every practice comes another opportunity for mastery.

Although it may seem tedious running through routines over and over, it will all count in those three minutes that we swim before the judges. Those opportunities for mastery? I’ll take them all. I know that the little girl dancing in her mermaid costume would be overjoyed to see me now.

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