The Washington critic., 1886-08-11
CIRCUS CoYTORTIoYYsTs.
Some Popular Notions Regarding
Their Methods Corrected.

Some Popular Notions Regarding
Their Methods Corrected.
The performers of what are known
as 'contortion acts" says the Chicago
Inter. Ocean, are ordinarily emacated,
loosely -jointed persons, like ill.made
manikins that have o tendency to tum
BILE down in heaps, and their doing of un.
natural and preposterous things seems
easy enough for such creatures, who
have no muscle to get in the way of the
bones that they fling so oarelcssly
about.
Hence 1t Is rather surprising to see n
person who Is model of physical per-
fection do these same feats, and when
that persons happens to be an extraor.
dinarily beautiful young woman, grace.
ful in every movement as kitten or
an infant, with the perfect form of an
ideal Venus and the strength of young
lioness, surprise blends most happily
with admiration.
But such performers exist. One Is
Miss Julian. who is now performing
with her brother at Barnum' circus
This phenomenal female was taught
her art by her mother, and was only
years old when she received her first
lessons, and was kept in training for
three years before she made her first
appearance in public in Melbourne,
Australia, where she was borne Her
mother hae been contortionist before
her, and her father was an athlete; so
both were fully competent to give her
the necessary instruction covering a
wide range of performances, of which
the contortion acts are only part.
Before making her appearance in
public 1t is necessary to work in the
| dressing room for ten or fifteen min.
utes, in order that she may get thor.
oughly warmed or "limbered up"
which exercise is similar to the public
performance-bending in all directions,
! balancing, twisting and so on. Clubs,
dumb-bells and other apparatus are
never used, as they are not necessary,
| aud nothing is done in the way of diet.
| ing or any other exercise except that
which is incidental to her performance
to keep her in training. She weighs
! 145 pounds and is five feet three inches
high.
There Is no foundation to the popu-
lar notion that Contortiouists rub them
| selves, or are rubbed, with certain oils
to timber the joints and make their
| limbs more flexible. The only things
needed to make contOrtionist are
natural aptitude for the work and long,
patient practice, begun at an carly age.
The work Injuries no one, and most
| persons rather like it.
| The nomenclature of the profcs.
sional contortionistis is peculiar, and few
outside the profession can understand
| 1t. Here is some of it according to
the young performer S way of put.
ting it:
1--WE change our programme fire.
qucntly, for we have almost an infinite
variety of acts, but this is what do
now. First there is an ontrec, in which
throw my brother over my head and
he throws me, you know. Then the
back.and. forward bends, forward bend
in chair, backward bend and Flip flap
all one trick; next two hands, one
hand, no hand and ankle next the
steepe on the chairs; next the wrcstle,
throwing my brother over in pan
cake, and then in flip flap; next
'pyramiding' up the backs of chairs, a
row of nip.llaps and rolypoly, when
put myself in n ball, with my feet over
my shoulders, and roll around; next
picking up piece of paper, running
backward and forward in a back bend
finally running around my head on the
floor My brother is of great assist
ance to me- lie performs with me,
and together we do round of, dip
Zap and back, spot backs. pyramids
up The chairs, hand balance on the
sleeple chair with corners cutting of
| mud Sn IN -