BEND IT LIKE NINJIN!

This flexible female tells us about her life as a circus performer

From pies and Pliates to showtime, Cirque du Soleil contortionist Ninjin Altankhuyag Alta takes us through the twists twis and turns of her day.

How do you start your day?

The first thing I do in the morning is turn off the alarm! I usually check my social media accounts, drink tea and eat small chocolate marsh mall marshmallow pies. Everywhere I go, I look for Korean and Chinese markets – they remind me of home. Then I get ready to go to work. In Seoul, our big top is walking distance from our ac com accommodation.

What kind of training do you do for shows?

The other contortionists c and myself are really physically flexible, but it doesn’t mean we don’t have to strengthen and warm up our bodies every day. Once a week, we do strengthening exercises wwith our physiotherapist. Twice a week, we do Pilates Pilat sessions. We also do a full rehearsal oon our platform on the stage with full show-li light conditions.

What do you do to prepare before as how?

We start to warm up one hour before. First of all, we stretch our legs and backs, and once we are all warmed up, we do some tricks. I always try to visualise harder tricks to get myself in the zone. I don’t follow any special diet and neither do the other contortionists, but it’s obviously hard to do contortion on a full stomach, therefore I stop eating three hours before the show starts.