Contortionist performing

Contortion (sometimes contortionism) is an unusual form of physical display which involves the dramatic bending and flexing of the human body. Contortion is often part of acrobatics and circus acts. Download high resolution version (470x705, 21 KB)Contortionist performing in Biberach an der Riß in November 2003. ... Download high resolution version (470x705, 21 KB)Contortionist performing in Biberach an der Riß in November 2003. ... Human anatomy or anthropotomy is a special field within anatomy. ... High wire act Acrobatics (from Greek Akros, high and bat, walking) is one of the performing arts, and is also practiced as a sport. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ...

In general, contortionists have unusual natural flexibility, which is then enhanced through gymnastic training.

Description

Skills

Most contortionists are categorized as either frontbenders or backbenders, depending on the direction in which their spine is more flexible. Relatively few performers are equally adept at bending both frontwards and backwards. The vertebral column seen from the side The vertebral column (backbone or spine) is a column of vertebrae situated in the dorsal aspect of the abdomen. ...

Some of the skills performed by contortionists include:

• Frontbending skills such as folding forward at the waist with the legs straight, or placing one or both legs behind the neck or shoulders with the knees bent (called a human knot). They may also pass their body through a ring or barrel while in a forward fold.
• Backbending skills such as touching one's head to one's feet, or all the way to the buttocks (called a head-seat), while standing, lying on the floor, or in a handstand. A Marinelli bend is a backbend while supported only by a grip at the top of a short post that is held in the mouth.
• Splits and oversplits (a split of more than 180 degrees) may be included in frontbending or backbending acts. An oversplit may be performed while the feet are supported by two chairs or by two assistants.
• Enterology is the practice of squeezing one's body into a small, knee-high box or other container which appears to be much too small for a person to fit in.
• Dislocations of the shoulders or hip joints are sometimes performed as a short novelty act by itself. One example is lifting the arm to the side until it passes behind the head and lies across the top of the shoulders.

A frontbend is a move in contortionism where the body is curved forward at the hips and spine. ... Valerie Harper does a split on The Muppets A split is a gymnastic and dance move in which one makes their legs parallel to one another, but perpendicular to their body. ... Dislocation (joint dislocation) occurs when bones at a joint move from their normal position. ... This article is about the body part. ... Bones of the Hip In anatomy, the hip is the bony projection of the femur, known as the greater trochanter, and the overlying muscle and fat. ...

Types of performances

Ravi the Scorpion Mystic stands on one leg performing his act in Times Square, NYC, 2004

Like other visual arts, a contortion performance can convey any of several emotions, depending on the choreography and costumes that are chosen, as well as the personality and acting skills of the performer. Performers might choose a style that is beautiful, athletic, weird, shocking, sensual, erotic or humorous, and each has fans that prefer that particular style, sometimes to the exclusion of other styles. Download high resolution version (1094x1280, 246 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (1094x1280, 246 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Many times, the term art is used to refer to the visual arts. ... Choreography (literally dance-writing, also known as dance composition), is the art of making structures in which movement occurs, the term composition may also refer to the navigation or connection of these movement structures. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Acting is the work of an actor or actress, a person in theatre, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play. ... Many see natural beauty in the rose. ... Eroticism is an aesthetic focused on sexual desire, especially the feelings of anticipation of sexual activity. ... Look up Humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Some special types of performances:

• An adagio act is a slow, acrobatic dance in which the male partner lifts and carries the female partner as she performs splits and other flexible poses.
• In a rag doll or golliwog act, one or two assistants bend, shake and carry the contortionist in such a way as to convince the audience that the disguised performer is actually a limp, life-sized doll. The act usually ends by stuffing the doll into a small box, after which the performer gets out and takes off the costume.
• A Spanish web is a contortion act that is performed high above the stage while holding on to a loop in a thick soft rope that is hung from the roof.
• Other performers might manipulate props during their performance, such as spin hula hoops or juggle rings, balance towers of wine glasses, or play a musical instrument.

A contortionist may perform alone, may have one or two assistants, or from one to four contortionists may perform together as a group. Adagio is the name given to a specific set of partner acrobalance or acrobalance movements. ... The Golliwog or Golliwogg is a blackfaced African American caricature created in the late 19th century. ... In circus performances a Spanish web involves a long, cloth covered rope with a loop attached near the top that a performer (web girl) climbs and inserts either their foot or their wrist into the loop. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

In the past, contortionists were associated almost exclusively with circuses and fairs, but recently they have also found work performing in nightclubs, amusement parks, in magazine advertisements, at trade shows, on television variety shows, in music videos, and as warmup acts or in the background at music concerts. In addition, contortion photos and digital movie clips are traded by fans on the Internet, and several web sites provide original photos of contortion acts for a monthly fee, or sell videotapes of performances through the mail. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Germany Pavilion, part of the Epcot Center theme park in Orlando, Florida Amusement park (also called theme park) is the generic term for a collection of rides and other entertainment attractions assembled for the purpose of entertaining a fairly large group of people. ... A variety show is a show with a variety of acts, often including music and comedy skits, especially on television. ... A music video is a short film or video that accompanies a complete piece of music, most commonly a song. ...

Myths

Many myths and fallacies have been perpetuated about contortionists; most of them are due to the general public's unfamiliarity with human anatomy and physiology, while some are showman's hype that has been invented by the performers themselves or their promoters in order to make the act appear even more mysterious. Anatomical drawing of the human muscles from the Encyclopédie. ... Leonardo da Vincis Vitruvian Man, an important early achievement in the study of physiology. ...

• Myth: Contortionists apply snake oil to their joints or drink special elixirs to become flexible. — This was a popular myth in the 19th century when medicine shows hired contortionists to "prove" the effectiveness of their arthritis medicines. Their extreme bending was not actually the result of their patent medicines. Flexibility is the result of either genetics or intense physical training or, more likely, both. This myth has inspired fictional characters like the Elongated Man.
• Myth: "Double-jointed" people have more joints than most people do. — Every fully-formed person has exactly the same number of joints. "Double-jointed" is just a slang expression used to describe the appearance of a person who can bend much further than one might think a joint would allow a limb to bend. In spite of the origin of the word, it is a perfectly acceptable expression to describe a person who is hypermobile.
• Myth: Contortionists have to dislocate their joints when they bend unusually far. — Since some loose-jointed people are able to pop a joint out of its socket without pain, it may be hard to tell whether a joint is actually dislocated without an x-ray. However, as long as the joint socket is the right shape, most extreme bends can be achieved without dislocating the joint. Actual dislocations are rarely used during athletic contortion acts since they make the joint more unstable and prone to injury, and a dislocated limb cannot lift itself or support any weight.
• Myth: Contortionists can bend bonelessly in any direction. — The amount of flexibility of every joint in every person varies from below average to extremely flexible, including every degree of flexibility in between. Also, the degree of natural flexibility of one joint in a certain direction does not determine its degree of flexibility in the opposite direction, or the flexibility of other joints in the body. Contortionists can create the illusion of having boneless bodies by specializing in the skills that show off their most flexible joints, with the help of their acting talent and mime skills.
• Myth: You are either born a contortionist or you're not. — Muscle flexibility can be acquired with persistent training, as long as the shape of the bones in the joint do not limit the range of motion. There are a relatively small number of professional performers who claim they were not unusually flexible before undergoing years of intense training. Those who have naturally flexible joints, however, start out with an advantage, both in knowing that they have an aptitude for contortion, and the amount of flexibility they can eventually achieve.
• Myth: Most contortionists have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome. — In reality, few contortionists have the condition. EDS is genetic, considered rare, and caused by defective collagen production. One result of this defective collagen production is loose, stretchy ligaments. (Ligaments hold the joints in place.) Since individuals with EDS have stretchy ligaments, they tend to be more flexible than the general population. In fact, some - but not all - individuals with EDS exhibit extreme flexibility. Another feature of EDS is spontaneous joint dislocations. The dislocations are caused by the ligaments' inability to hold the joints in place due to their stretchy nature. Dislocations can also be performed at will by some, possibly even many, individuals with the condition.
• Myth: Women are more apt to be contortionists than men. — Pictures of contortionists throughout history and around the world, taken as a whole, show nearly equal numbers of males and females. Western contortionists in the late 19th century were mostly men, just as extreme flexibility in modern India is practiced mostly by men. Also, medical studies show that nearly equal numbers of hypermobile males and females are found when the trait runs in the family. Therefore, the fact that most contortionists in Western cultures today are female is simply a result of the current cultural preference.

For snake oil in cryptography, see Snake oil (cryptography) Clark Stanleys Snake Oil Liniment. ... Patent medicine is the term given to various medical compounds sold under a variety of names and labels, though they were for the most part actually trademarked medicines, not patented. ... The Elongated Man is a fictional comic book superhero in the DC universe. ... A joint (from French joint) (articulation) is the location at which two bones make contact (articulate). ... Hypermobility (also called double-jointedness, hypermobility syndrome or hyperlaxity) is a condition in which people have more elastic ligaments, allowing their joints to stretch and contort further. ... This article is about the phenomenon known as an illusion. ... Acting is the work of an actor or actress, a person in theatre, film, or any other storytelling medium who tells the story by portraying a character and, usually, speaking or singing the written text or play. ... A mime artist (also known as a mime) performs a series of dance-like moves. ... A top-down view of skeletal muscle Muscle (from Latin musculus little mouse[1]) is contractile tissue of the body and is derived from the mesodermal layer of embryonic germ cells. ... Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is a group of rare genetic disorders that diminish the bodys ability to make connective tissues. ...

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Contortion

• Contortion Home Page
• Possi's Contortion Site: The largest directory of web sites about contortion.
• Flexible women: FLexible women gallery.
• Simply Circus Contortion Resources