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nature of the acting business. “In acting you’re always dependent on someone else liking you,” she says. “You’re always dependent on what the look is of the season, and if you’re not that, you’re not working. We do original characters because anyone can be a mermaid, which means that there is no right answer to what a mermaid looks like.” LA Mermaid School is an educational division operating under Sheroes, offering training for amateur mermaids or pros looking to polish up on their mermaid magic. The school has been utilized for training on film sets, in professional pho- toshoots, and as challenges for TV shows such as Germany’s Next Topmodel . “Normally, if people in LA are looking for mer- maids, they call us,” says Hankins. She adds that beyond oc- cupying a special niche, educating the next generation on the ocean’s ecosystem is a rewarding perk of her occupation. “One of the most amazing things for me is making people’s worlds bigger,” she says. Hankins leads a team of mermaids who are trained for any
depictions of mermaids in pop culture are as fluid as the water they inhabit, drifting from tales of evil seductresses to beautiful ingenues who dream of love and life on land. They represent both miraculous serendipity and absolute tragedy, acting as sav- iors who lead sailors to desired destinations, or tricking them into death. Our belief in these sea creatures traces back thou- sands of years, popping up in the art, literature, and folklore of several different cultures around the globe. Perhaps this is be- cause mermaids represent a power that humans don’t unders- tand—the symbols of a greater, intangible fear of the unknown. And perhaps it’s only natural, as our relationship to water be- comes ever the more pressing, as our personal tempest persists against us, to look towards familiar mythology to help navigate the storms of everyday life. Virginia Hankins is a renaissance woman: an actress, a stunt woman, a professional archer, a mermaid, a modern day lady knight, and a mother. She’s the founder of Sheroes Entertain- ment, a party services group partially inspired by the unforgiving
BOTTEGA VENETA Cassette Bag
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