Types of performances
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.
•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.
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.
