9 Jan 2011 on Jimpflex
Jim Pickles' other life .... is an interest in ballet, jazz dance, yoga, and contortion. Here are images of my tennis racquet comedy routine as Professor Pantaloon, dance (ballet, a "performance" of Swan Lake, jazz one, jazz two, and tap), my favourite yoga positions - plus a few experimental stretches, some yoga positions shown by my flexible friend Heather (page one, page two, page three), and photographs from the First, Second and Third International Contortion Conventions. Lower on the page are a few photos from my act at the Fourth Convention, held in 2006. I also have a Youtube channel showing this and other dance routines (http://au.youtube.com/jimp2200).
In January 2010 I took part in the Coff's Harbour Festival of Contortion and Handbalancing (organised by Jasmine George and Andrew McQueen). I did a short routine with Christine Danton (Christine Shillaker) a well-known contortionist who is still performing at the age of 66.
Above: few clips from our routine (watch on Youtube) which followed on from Christine's own routine - my attempt at the "head toe touch", both of us doing a crabwalk, and the ending.
Below: two of the many contributors with great potential - Mim Conyers, and Bonnie Sambrook, and finally all of us in a line of splits:
Next are a few photos from my act at the Fourth International Contortion Convention, held in Las Vegas on the 26th - 28th of September, 2006.
(photos by Colin Strover)
Here, I did a short dance comedy routine with the gorgeous Albana and Helena. It started with them doing impressive walkovers, and ended with me in a golliwog routine, where they held my feet and ran round in circles in opposite directions, apparently twisting my legs off (watch on Youtube).
See further information
at the official pages
of the ICC (http://www.icc-convention.com/).
I have also increased my
knowledge of stretching techniques by becoming qualified in the
absolutely excellent Posture and
Flexibility
programme, devised by Kit Laughlin at the Australian National
University in Canberra (see the class I teach at my main page www.jimpflex.com.au). The techniques
described in his book "Stretching and Flexibility" (Simon and Schuster) form the most
thorough and most effective
programme for the
acquisition of flexibility by adults. Click
here for a PDF file (236 kB) of a talk I
gave on the Posture and Flexibility pre-exhaustion stretching
technique at the Third International Contortion Convention, held in
Cologne in November 2003 (the original presentation included movies,
not included here).
All pictures on my pages are by me and copyrighted by me, except where otherwise indicated. Photographs by me may be reproduced on other web pages, as long as the source is acknowledged.
