From land
to the water.
A dancer who fell for the water in 2019, an ADEX Singapore Underwater Dance Champion, and the one‑to‑one school she built to share it.
Taught properly. One at a time.
The Dancing Mermaid teaches mermaiding and underwater dance in Singapore. Aliyah founded it to share an art form she fell for in 2019, and to teach it the way it deserves: safely, properly, and mostly one student at a time.
Every course follows the programme of MFI, Mermaid Federation International, or PADI, and leads to a recognised certification. Aliyah teaches both: she sits on MFI's Technical Committee and is a PADI Mermaid Instructor.
Most of our students are adults: complete beginners who have never worn a tail, swimmers looking for something new, and dancers looking for a new stage. The tail, fin and mask are lent to you. All you bring is a swimsuit and a towel.
A hobby that took over.
Aliyah took up mermaid swimming in 2019. A light-hearted hobby soon took over: she was training four or five times a week, and the water became her second home. Her aim was never only to perform, but to see mermaiding and underwater dance celebrated as performance art.
To go deeper, safely, she certified as a Molchanovs freediver, then as a PADI Mermaid Instructor and an MFI Mermaid Instructor. With MFI she trained under the underwater dance instructor August Ho and became an MFI Underwater Dance Instructor. In 2024 she was crowned Champion of the Underwater Dance Competition at ADEX Singapore. Today she sits on MFI's Technical Committee.
She teaches the way she trained. Safety and rescue come first; then comes the freedom to find your own way of moving underwater. Her students are her pride, and many of them are reluctant to leave the water when a lesson ends.
“Guiding students to discover their unique underwater grace is my greatest joy.”
A dancer first.
Before she was a mermaid, Aliyah was an award-winning belly dancer, at home and internationally. She started dancing at five, and found in every twirl, jump and step a way to tell a story. Underwater dance carries that idea into the water.
“With every twirl, jump, and step, I discovered a deeper connection to the world around me.”
Calm, found underwater.
The underwater world is calm and peaceful, and Aliyah wants more people to find that calm for themselves. Under her close guidance, students overcome a fear of water, discover calmness underwater and within themselves, and leave with a real skill in underwater art.
The rules we never bend.
Mostly one-to-one
Most lessons are one student and one instructor. Friends can book a class together, never more than four. A separate photographer takes any photos, so your instructor's eyes stay on the water.
Never in the water alone
Every lesson is at a safe depth for the pool. Aliyah asks how you feel before you get in, and you can stop at any point.
Ready before you go deeper
Courses beyond the first steps ask for a short swim first, and some for a timed float. Each course lists what it needs, along with its depth and minimum age.
Rescue skills are taught
MFI's Advanced (M1) and Master (M2) Mermaid courses build in rescue skills and a written test, and its underwater dance courses teach rescue too, so you learn to look after others.
An honest health declaration
MFI asks for a health declaration before a course begins. Tell us about anything that matters; most conditions mean adjusting, not turning you away.
Credentials you can check
MFI lists its instructors on its website, and PADI's free Pro Chek confirms any PADI professional's status. Aliyah appears in both.
Read more: Choosing a safe mermaid school or instructor Health checks before you start Never alone: the first rule of mermaiding
Start your own journey.
Find the course that suits you, or ask us anything.