Contortion is a performance art in which performers called contortionists showcase their skills of extreme physical flexibility. Contortion acts often accompany acrobatics, circus acts, street performers and other live performing arts. Contortion acts are typically performed in front of a live audience. An act will showcase one or more artists performing a choreographed set of moves or poses, often to music, which require extreme flexibility. The physical flexibility required to perform such acts greatly exceeds that of the general population. It is the dramatic feats of seemingly inhuman flexibility that captivate audiences.
Sissel Kyrkjebø, also simply known as Sissel, is a Norwegian soprano.
Mako Komuro, formerly Princess Mako of Akishino, is a former member of the Japanese imperial family. She is the eldest child of Crown Prince Fumihito and Crown Princess Kiko, niece of Emperor Naruhito, and granddaughter of Emperor Emeritus Akihito and Empress Emerita Michiko. After marrying outside the imperial family in October 2021, she gave up her title as required by the Imperial Household Law.
America's Got Talent is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global Got Talent franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle USA and Syco Entertainment, and broadcasts on the NBC television network. It premiered on June 21, 2006, after plans for a British edition in 2005 were suspended, following a dispute within the British broadcaster ITV. Production would later resume in 2007, following the success of the first season. Each season is mainly run during the network's summer schedule, and has featured various hosts over the course of the program's history. The current host is Terry Crews.
"One Night Only" is a song from the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, with lyrics written by Tom Eyen and music by Henry Krieger. In the context of the musical, "One Night Only" is performed twice in succession, as differing versions of the song — a soul ballad by the character Effie White and a dance version by her former bandmates Deena Jones & the Dreams — compete on the radio and the pop charts.
Sam Wills is a Timaru, New Zealand prop comic, busker, and clown residing in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. He performs under the name The Boy With Tape On His Face and, more recently, as Tape Face. He was also half of the two-person act Spitroast and sometimes performed under his own name, Sam Wills. He has been featured in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, the World Buskers Festival, and was a finalist on Season 11 of America's Got Talent.
Irina Kazakova is known as one of the world's most flexible rhythmic gymnasts. She specializes in contortion and rhythmic gymnastics on Russia's national team. She is trained with a personal trainer, with whom she works on her oversplits. Her most popular performance is her "Snake Dance". As a rhythmic gymnast, she has performed with the ball, clubs, hoop, and ribbons.
Veronica Sandra Karin Maggio is a Swedish-Italian singer and songwriter.
Faryl Smith is a British soprano whose performance repertoire includes opera, classical and classical crossover. Her diverse concerts draw a wide range of audiences, and she particularly enjoys introducing new audiences to classical music. Faryl has released two albums with Decca Records both in the UK and the US and works frequently with many different charities.
Escala is an electronic string quartet, from London, England who rose to fame when they performed on and reached the final of the second series of Britain's Got Talent on ITV1 in May 2008.
"Circus" is a song by American singer Britney Spears. It was released on December 2, 2008, through Jive Records as the second single from her sixth studio album of the same name. Written by Dr. Luke, Claude Kelly and Benny Blanco, "Circus" is a metaphor for the public's perception of Spears' life. After she listened to the track for the first time, she felt inspired to create an album and a tour with a circus theme. "Circus" is an uptempo electropop and dance-pop song with elements of pop rock and "half-rapped" vocals. The song's lyrics talk about being an entertainer and putting on shows.
Talentadong Pinoy, also known as Bangon Talentadong Pinoy is a Philippine reality talent show broadcast by TV5. The show premiere on August 16, 2008. Hosted initially by Ryan Agoncillo in its first five seasons, within exception of seasons 6 and 7, the show is handled formerly by Robin Padilla and Mariel Rodriguez, it displays performances from singers, dancers, actors, musicians and comedians, to contortionists, impressionists, jugglers, ventriloquists and magicians. Contestants are allowed to perform any act they want. One difference to the Got Talent series is that the judges give their opinions on the performance of the performer and grades only 50% of the final score while the jury also grades 50% of the score to determine the winner. Its recent season aired every Saturday at 8 p.m. (PST). The show ended on March 13, 2021, and was replaced by 1000 Heartbeats: Pintig Pinoy.
Susan Magdalane Boyle is a Scottish singer. She rose to fame in 2009 after appearing as a contestant on the third series of Britain's Got Talent, singing "I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Misérables.
Kseniya Oleksandrivna Paskar is a Ukrainian performance artist who does sand animation, graphic design, illustration, cinema, and literature. She holds the title of Merited Artist of Ukraine and rose to prominence in 2009 after winning Ukraine's Got Talent. She was the only one to receive two Golden Buzzers on two different "The Champions" series of the Got Talent franchise :America's Got Talent: The Champions and Britain's Got Talent: The Champions, both in 2019.
Aleksei I. Goloborodko is a Russian contortionist. In addition to contortion, he has trained in classical and modern dance and Chinese martial arts. He has performed in a variety of arts festivals and competitions, television programs, circuses, and shows. He is currently in the Cirque du Soleil show Luzia.
Angelique Frances Meunier, known professionally as Havana Brown or DJ Havana Brown, is an Australian DJ, singer, record producer, songwriter and dancer. In 2008, Brown signed with Island Records Australia as a DJ for the record company, and began releasing her Crave compilation album series, which featured remixes of songs from other artists. This led to her touring with international artists, including Britney Spears, Rihanna, the Pussycat Dolls, Chris Brown and Enrique Iglesias.
Christine Danton (Shillaker), professionally billed as "The Amazing Cristina" is an Australian contortionist who still performed her contortion act at the age of 71 in 2016. Celebrating over 50 years as a professional performer, Christine has been featured on several TV Shows, including "Just for the Record" and "Australia's Got Talent", and has worked internationally in theatre, film and circus. In the early 1960s while performing in Europe, Christine was asked to pose for the medical journal "Hypermobility of Joints", and it was those b&w images that were used in early editions of that publication. Christine performs her contortion act on a regular basis and is also in great demand as an "After Dinner Speaker".
Leilani "Lucky" Franco, is a British contortionist based in London and Berlin.
Angelina Jordan is a Norwegian singer whose audition for the 2014 season of Norway's Got Talent, singing "Gloomy Sunday" in the style of Billie Holiday, became a viral video online and brought her worldwide press coverage at the age of eight. She went on to win the competition with her performance of George Gershwin's "Summertime". Since then she has worked to raise millions of dollars on behalf of environmental causes and children's charities around the world. She always performs barefoot, after befriending a young shoeless girl and giving her shoes to her. Jordan wrote a book about the experience and became the youngest published author in Norway.
Marina Mazepa is a Ukrainian actress, model, dancer, and contortionist. She is known for competing in the fourteenth season of America's Got Talent and reaching the quarterfinals. She has also competed in talent show competitions such as So You Think You Can Dance, France's Got Talent, and Ukraine's Everybody Dance! As an actress, she has appeared in films such as Malignant, The Unholy, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.
