contortionism
Body-twisting performance art
Contortionism is the performance art of bending and twisting the body into extreme positions.
Practitioners display unusual flexibility, folding themselves into boxes, wrapping limbs around their torsos, or arching backward until their head meets their feet.
The term extends to any elaborate physical or rhetorical maneuvering: The legal contortionism required to justify that ruling was impressive.
Capacity to flex
- supplenessCapacity to bend easily
- limbernessBodily flexibility
- elasticityTendency to resume original form
- hypermobilityExcessive joint flexibility
double-jointed · backbend · oversplit · dislocate · pliability · stretchability · flexibility · rubber
Arching spine rearward
- human knotIcebreaker requiring physical collaboration
- splitsDivides into parts
- oversplitExcessive partitioning or segmentation
- dislocateShift from proper position
hand balancing · handstand · headstand · bridge · scorpion
Secondary carnival attraction
- big topMain circus tent
- ringmasterCircus performance director
- variety actSolo entertainment segment
- cabaretLive entertainment venue
freak show · carnival · spectacle · tent · marquee · traveling show · vaudeville · burlesque
Deed or performance
- routineRegular sequence of actions
- soloPerformance by one
- duetPiece for two
- showmanshipSkill at impressive presentation
presentation · choreography · timing · entrance · finale · costume · music · lighting
Glacier-carved mountain basin
- RinglingCircus-founding family surname
- Cirque du SoleilTheatrical circus entertainment company
- circus artsPerformance skills under canvas
- physical theaterPerformance emphasizing gesture, motion
Extending muscles or material
- conditioningLearned behavioral adaptation
- warm-upPre-activity preparation routine
- strengthPower to exert force
- enduranceSustained effort capacity
practice · coach · discipline · technique · progression · daily routine · shoulder mobility
bendability
Capacity to flex
- supplenessCapacity to bend easily
- limbernessBodily flexibility
- elasticityTendency to resume original form
hypermobility · double-jointed · backbend · oversplit · dislocate · pliability · stretchability · flexibility · rubber · boneless
backbend
Arching spine rearward
- human knotIcebreaker requiring physical collaboration
- splitsDivides into parts
- oversplitExcessive partitioning or segmentation
dislocate · hand balancing · handstand · headstand · bridge · scorpion
sideshow
Secondary carnival attraction
- big topMain circus tent
- ringmasterCircus performance director
- variety actSolo entertainment segment
cabaret · freak show · carnival · spectacle · tent · marquee · traveling show · vaudeville · burlesque · stage
act
Deed or performance
showmanship · presentation · choreography · timing · entrance · finale · costume · music · lighting · audience
cirque
Glacier-carved mountain basin
- RinglingCircus-founding family surname
- Cirque du SoleilTheatrical circus entertainment company
- circus artsPerformance skills under canvas
stretching
Extending muscles or material
- conditioningLearned behavioral adaptation
- warm-upPre-activity preparation routine
- strengthPower to exert force
endurance · practice · coach · discipline · technique · progression · daily routine · shoulder mobility
- vaudevillevaudeville, variety show, variety act, music hall, headliner
- superpowerstelekinesis, telepathy, superpower, invisibility, force powers
contortionismrigidity
State of being unbending
stiffness · inflexibility · paralysis · immobility · rigor mortis
contortionismstillness
Complete lack of motion
motionlessness · mechanical movement · standing at attention · powerlifting
contortionismbodybuilding
Muscle enlargement for appearance
powerlifting · strongman · weightlifting · isometrics · resistance training