They are exercising by music, dancing by music, and doing many other things by music, but the newest development in this line is being tried out in the College of Industrial Arts swimming pool — and that is swimming to music, furnished by a Victrola. An ad for radiator refilling at Alamo Filling Station, 214-18 N. Elm St.
, in the Dec. 6, 1924, Record-Chronicle. “The experiment was suggested,” said Miss Dorice Mirick, instructor in gymnastics and instituter of swimming by music, “by Miss Nita Sheffield under whom I studied at Columbia last Summer.
“First, I teach the strokes, and then have my pupils do them by music. The music used is waltz, preferably Hawaiian.” One of the first essentials in swimming is relaxation.
The beginner is apt to fight the water, their muscles become tense, and their speed is lessened. With music, the student somewhat forgets to be afraid, and relaxes more. The students really learn more readily when they have music, than without, for they are paying more attention to the rhythm and melody and do not consider what they are doing as work.
“I give land drills to see if the pupils have acquired the fundamental movements correctly,” Miss Mirick continued. “Then I have them swim in a circle in the water so that I may observe each one as she comes past me. “The students enjoy swimming by music very much, and I am hoping that my experiment may be a successful one.
” An ad for the J. Doug Morgan Big Tent Show, “When Toby Comes to Town,.
