Where to see contortion around the world this quarter: 76 shows, tours, festivals, competitions and cruises, from Las Vegas big tops to Christmas circuses in Germany and cabaret nights in Tokyo. Filter by region or month, and tap a performer's name to visit their profile.
Every year the circus calendar does something strange in its final quarter. The summer tents come down, and the whole art form moves indoors and gets more intimate: variety theatres, dinner shows, cabaret clubs as well as jovial Christmas circuses. For anyone who follows contortion, the last three months of 2026 promise a feast. Cirque du Soleil has three shows with contortion acts on three continents. There are Christmas big tops in Cologne, Ravensburg, Bremen and Lübeck, and a canine circus touring Ontario with 24 dates. A Brazilian contortionist will spend the whole winter on the Atlantic. The man often called the most flexible alive brings his candlelit solo to a new city. And more than a dozen of the performers below appear in these roundups for the first time.
Before we look ahead, here's what September gave contortion fans.
In Barcelona, KURIOS (3–27 September) put four Mongolian contortionists on its giant mechanical hand: Azzaya Ariunbold, Ayagma Tsybenova, Oyun-Erdene Baljinnyam and Doljin Batsukh. One Spanish review said they build "shapes that seem to defy human anatomy". In Ottawa, BroadwayWorld's LUZIA review on 13 September called Aleksei Goloborodko "the most impressive solo contortionist I have ever seen". In Brisbane, KOOZA reviews again named Ninjin Altankhuyag and the "Triple-Tiered Contortion" act. Cirque's ECHO played Querétaro, Mexico (3–27 September) with contortion among its rotating acts, and OVO opened in Brussels on 30 September with its spider contortionist.
In Vienna, Lili Paul-Roncalli returned with a new contortion number at Roncalli's 50th-anniversary premiere on 16 September. The German variety season opened a day later at Frankfurt's Tigerpalast with Romina Micheletty, while Viktoriia Dziuba stayed in the cast at Berlin's Friedrichstadt-Palast. Alexander Batuev closed GOP Hannover's Zweifach magisch on 27 September, and Maxim Voronin spent the month in Vienna. In Switzerland, Anna Layne was on the road with Circus Monti. In Paris, Yaya Diarrassouba was in the last weeks of a Crazy Horse contract, and HeeJin Diamond played some nights at the Nouvelle Ève. On 16 September, Coralie (@coco_contorsion) performed in Il était une fois… with Compagnie Circo Criollo at "La MJC en scène" in Corbeil-Essonnes. In Gera, K.Juma opened in the variety show Prosecco & Pailletten on 10 September (more below).
In the UK, Bendy Lucky Luke (@bendy_luckyluke) performed at The Contortionists Show 2026 on 12 September. Luke is from Essex and took up contortion at around five after watching Sofie Dossi's America's Got Talent audition on YouTube. Coached by Pixie Le Knot, Luke gave a first solo at the London Contortionist Show in February 2020, kept training over Zoom through lockdown, and has since performed in Pixie Le Knot's The Contortionist Show.
In London, Andromeda Circus (@andromedacircus) played The Box in the week of 14 September, then Reuben Kaye's K Hole and Fox and Badge the following week.
Three September festivals had contortion in competition. At the IV Minsk International Circus Festival (17–20 September), Gildo Gomes won the audience prize with "Rubber in the Air".
At the same time, a Mongolian contortion act, the Roxie Contortion Troupe, took silver at the first Tajikistan International Circus Festival in Dushanbe.
In Italy, the Tanzanian contortionist Hassan Gorila (Geofrey Michaely) was the only contortion act among 23 at the Salieri Circus Award in Legnago (24–28 September). The prizes were given at the gala on 28 September, with gold going to Mateo & Aelia (diabolo dance) and Sundello (aerial straps).
Mary Pat Letourneau (@mp_letourneau) played the East Las Vegas Library on 19 September and the Untitled Supper Club in Chicago on 24 September.
Lastics Boyz (@lastics_boyz) took contortion to the baseball stadium, performing at Banana Ball games in Birmingham (19–20 September) and Cleveland (25–26 September). Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey brought Jordan McKnight to Wichita's INTRUST Bank Arena from 25 to 27 September, and Uranbileg "Urnaa" Angarag closed the month at a Shriners circus in Nashville. At Rochester Fringe on 18–19 September, the free Circus in the City shows included 3AM Theatre's "contortion archery". And in New York, the Metropolitan Opera's Così fan tutte returned on 23 September with two contortionists in its Coney Island sideshow (more below).
In Lagos, Gflex (@gflex_contortionist), the Nigerian contortionist Olaofe Ganiu performed a contortion act in a contemporary circus show for the Oworo community in Oworonshoki on 26 September.
In Rwanda, Maguru the Boneless (@maguru_the_boneless), the 25-year-old Rwandan contortionist Patrick Irakiza, performed at a sports-business event at the Kigali Convention Centre in September as part of SportsBiz Africa Week (10–13 September), whose forum was held there. Maguru grew up with little exposure to contortion, and a talent show performance in 2019 is what rekindled Maguru's interest in it. In Ulaanbaatar, the Tumen Ekh ensemble played daily at 6pm with contortion in every show, and Beijing's Chaoyang Theatre kept contortion in its nightly acrobatics.
America's Got Talent contortionist Maria performed in the third quarterfinal on 1 September and went out the next night. On Ukraine's Got Talent, 10-year-old Veronika Nepomnyashcha from Zaporizhzhia, who learned the Marinelli bend at six, passed an audition on 6 September. Vlada Kalashnikova set a national record on 20 September (more on that below, under On Screen).
Las Vegas has two circus festivals this October, and they are easy to confuse. The International Circus Festival of Las Vegas, now in its third edition and hosted by Renato Fernandes, opens under a big top at 800 S Decatur Blvd on 16 October. American contortionist Mary Pat Letourneau (@mp_letourneau) is due to perform there from 16 to 20 October.
Twelve days later comes the Vegas Variety Circus Festival at the Cheyenne Sports Complex in North Las Vegas, 28 October to 1 November. It's a competition with more than 40 acts across seven shows, and the organisers name contortionists among them.
Letourneau's quarter doesn't stop in Nevada. It starts at Oddyssey Manor in Las Vegas on 3 October, takes in CirqueHaus in New York City on 13 November at 8pm, and ends with A Very Merry Christmas Show in St Augustine, Florida, from 3 to 19 December. New bookings often come up at short notice, so expect more.
Mary Pat Letourneau (@mp_letourneau): Las Vegas 3 and 16–20 October; CirqueHaus, NYC, 13 November; St Augustine, FL, 3–19 December (dates from the performer).
The most unusual tour on this list belongs to Toria Summerville (@flexy_t), who performs as Flexy-T. Toria grew up in Woodbridge, Ontario, came to circus as a multi-award-winning dancer, and may be familiar to Canadian TV audiences from Canada's Got Talent. This quarter Toria is touring Ontario with a canine circus. There are 24 dates across four shows. Dogs Do Magic is for all ages, Hellarious: Halloween Illusion Spectacular is 16+ and runs through October, Northern Lights plays in November, and a Christmas edition, DDM XMAS, fills December. The tour opens at the McIntyre Performing Arts Centre in Hamilton on 3 October and closes at Market Hall in Peterborough on 30 December, passing through Toronto (The Redwood, 21 November), Barrie, Brockville, Orléans, Chatham, Pembroke, Markham, Brantford, Owen Sound, London and North Bay along the way.
Toria Summerville (@flexy_t): Ontario tour, 3 October – 30 December 2026, 24 dates (dates from the performer).
Regular readers know Aleksei Goloborodko (@galexey94) well by now: the candlelit Alebrije solo in Cirque du Soleil's LUZIA has been on our short list every month since July. What's new this quarter is the city. LUZIA stays under its big top at the St. Laurent Shopping Centre in Ottawa until 18 October, then opens at Concord Pacific Place in Vancouver on 4 November. The Vancouver closing date isn't settled yet. Different listings give 13 December, 15 December or 10 January, so if you're planning a late visit, check Cirque du Soleil's own site first.
Aleksei Goloborodko (@galexey94): LUZIA, St. Laurent Shopping Centre, Ottawa, until 18 October; Concord Pacific Place, Vancouver, from 4 November 2026 (closing date to be confirmed).
For American audiences, the most widely available contortion ticket this December is A Magical Cirque Christmas, a holiday show visiting more than 30 US cities between 15 November (Asheville) and 30 December (Portland). Its contortion and hand-balance act is performed by Iris Ileven (@iris.ileven).
Iris Ileven (@iris.ileven): A Magical Cirque Christmas, US tour, 15 November – 30 December 2026.
A more unexpected contortion booking this autumn is at the Metropolitan Opera. Phelim McDermott's staging of Mozart's ##INLINE6## moves the opera to a 1950s Coney Island boardwalk, and fills it with real sideshow acts: a fire breather, a strongman, a snake charmer, sword swallowers and a pair of contortionists. The contortionists are Jonathan Nosan (@contorture) and Anna Venizelos (@annavenizelos). Nosan is a late starter with an unusual path. Nosan came to contortion from a Fulbright year of PhD research in Japan, and was unable to touch toes at 22. After a year of physical theatre training in London and three years studying under Master Lu Yi at the San Francisco Circus Center, Nosan moved to Manhattan in 1998 and was in the original cast of the spiegeltent hit LIMBO. Nimrod David Pfeffer conducts, with Federica Lombardi, Samantha Hankey, Duke Kim, Andrey Zhilikhovsky, Ana María Martínez and Gerald Finley singing. The revival opened at Lincoln Center on 23 September and runs until 23 October, with remaining performances on 3, 6, 10, 13, 17 and 23 October. If you can't get to New York, the 3 October matinee is broadcast live to cinemas worldwide (1pm ET) as part of the 20th anniversary of The Met: Live in HD. A radio recording of that performance airs on the Met's international radio network on 30 January.
Jonathan Nosan (@contorture) and Anna Venizelos (@annavenizelos): Così fan tutte, Metropolitan Opera, New York, 23 September – 23 October; Live in HD in cinemas, 3 October.
The Mongolian contortionist, hand balancer and aerialist Uranbileg "Urnaa" Angarag, who is also a national IYSF yoga champion, is playing shows and events around the US for the rest of the year and has promised to share dates as they're confirmed.
In Vancouver, Katelynn McKamey, who brings a Team Canada acro background and ten years of competitive dance to the act is taking small local gigs.
In Quebec, Coralie Roberge (@robergecoralie), whose Instagram bio touts her as "Quebec's tallest contortionist", has a Halloween booking on 24 October in Shannon, a small town just north-west of Quebec City. Coralie's act mixes contortion, including Marinelli bends and zubnik (teeth-hold) tricks, with buugeng and whip cracking.
Coralie Roberge (@robergecoralie): Halloween festival, Shannon, Quebec, 24 October (from the performer; event details not yet confirmed).
The Contortion Sisters (@contortionsisters) are staying put in South Florida for the rest of the year. They're working at The Setai in Miami Beach and at E11EVEN in Miami. There are no public dates, so check their Instagram before you go.
Contortion Sisters: The Setai (Miami Beach) and E11EVEN (Miami), rest of the year, no dates published (from the performers).
On the Strip, Sarah Scott Rex (@sarahscott.rex) looks to be part of the rotating line-up of THE PARTY, Spiegelworld's 50-seat show in the Blue Room at Superfrico, inside The Cosmopolitan. The show runs Sunday to Thursday at 7pm.
Sarah Scott Rex (@sarahscott.rex): THE PARTY, Superfrico, The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, Sunday to Thursday (likely; nightly cast not published).
The reinvented Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, with contortionist and hand-balancer Jordan McKnight, keeps touring arenas across the Midwest and East this autumn, with nine stops before the break: Des Moines (Casey's Center, 1–4 October), Pittsburgh (PPG Paints Arena, 16–18 October), St. Paul (Grand Casino Arena, 23–25 October), Grand Rapids (Van Andel Arena, 29 October – 1 November), Rosemont, Illinois (Allstate Arena, 6–8 November), Detroit (Little Caesars Arena, 13–15 November), Indianapolis (Gainbridge Fieldhouse, 20–22 November), Kansas City (T-Mobile Center, 27–29 November) and Cincinnati (Heritage Bank Center, 4–6 December). Tickets are at ringling.com.
Jordan McKnight: Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, US arena tour, Des Moines 1 October to Cincinnati 6 December.
The Festival de Circo do Brasil returns to Recife for its 20th edition from 30 October to 8 November, under the theme Rebuliço!, with shows, workshops, music, debates and street performances in theatres and public spaces around the city. Marco Motta (@marcomottaart) will be there in November with his own show, though the date isn't set yet. Marco is a contortionist, dancer and aerial straps artist from Salvador, Bahia, now based in Spain, who came to circus through capoeira and breaking at 16. The act has won a special jury prize at the 38th Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, third prize at FIRCO and CircusTalk's 2019 Critic's Choice, and Marco uses circus to speak about poverty, racism and the need for a fairer society. Tickets and the programme will be on the festival's ticketing page.
Marco Motta (@marcomottaart): Festival de Circo do Brasil, Recife, November (from the performer; date to be announced). The festival runs 30 October – 8 November.
Cirque du Soleil's Alegría – In a New Light spends the rest of the year in Brazil: São Paulo (Parque Villa-Lobos) until 8 November, then Curitiba (Expotrade) from 19 November to 13 December. Oyun-Erdene Senge (@oyunasenge), the Mongolian contortionist and Guinness World Records holder we featured in May when the show was in Valencia.
Oyun-Erdene Senge (@oyunasenge): Alegría, São Paulo until 8 November and Curitiba 19 November – 13 December (likely; no official cast list).
Germany's variety theatres are well stocked with contortion acts this autumn
At Frankfurt's Tigerpalast, the Revue 2026/27 runs from 17 September to 28 February and features the French artist Romina Micheletty, whose act combines hula hoop, handstand and contortion.
In Berlin, the Friedrichstadt-Palast Grand Show BLINDED by DELIGHT plays all quarter with the Ukrainian contortionist Viktoriia Dziuba, a 2023 Monte-Carlo Silver Clown winner, among its artists. The cast rotates, so check who's performing on the night you go.
In Mannheim, the PALAZZO dinner show's 2026/27 season opens in October with Gildo Gomes (@gildogomes_oficial), whom we last saw closing AHOI at Berlin's Wintergarten in July. The act arrives with a fresh prize: in September their routine "Rubber in the Air" won the audience award at the IV Minsk International Circus Festival.
Two Russian contortionists are moving house for the winter. Alexander Mitin (@aleksandrmi) joins the programme at Hamburg's Hansa Theater from the end of October through to March. Mitin grew up in a circus family, and the act "Memory" has won prizes at the Moscow International Circus Festival and at Monte-Carlo's New Generation festival.
Alexander Batuev (@alexander_batuev), who has lately worked the Moulin Rouge and GOP Varieté, moves to Hullis in Munich from October. The GOP Hannover run, where the act was billed as "Future Man", closed on 27 September. Batuev came to contortion after a parkour injury, and has since won a Silver Elephant at the Moscow International Circus Festival and appeared on France's Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde.
Romina Micheletty: Tigerpalast, Frankfurt, 17 September – 28 February. Viktoriia Dziuba: Friedrichstadt-Palast, Berlin, all quarter. Gildo Gomes: PALAZZO, Mannheim, from October. Alexander Mitin: Hansa Theater, Hamburg, late October – March (from the performer). Alexander Batuev: Hullis, Munich, from October (from the performer).
In Leipzig, Aidan Bryant (@aidanbryant), the America's Got Talent runner-up and AGT: All-Stars winner we featured in June, is in the cast of PASSION, the new dinner show at the Stadtbad Leipzig, from its premiere on 12 November to 16 January. It's an aerial act (the venue bills it as Luftakrobatik) rather than a contortion number, in a line-up that also includes handstands, Chinese pole and rola-rola. Shows are at 7pm (6pm on Sundays) with a four-course dinner, from €79.
Aidan Bryant (@aidanbryant): PASSION – Die Dinnershow im Stadtbad, Leipzig, 12 November – 16 January (aerial act; named by the venue). Tickets
A contortionist we haven't featured before is touring southern Germany all October. Lorenzo Bernardi (@_lorenzo_bernardi_) is the contortionist in Zirkus Charles Knie's 2026 programme, with an act called "Man in the Box". Born in Italy in 2000, Lorenzo started out in dance and children's theatre, then at ten entered the Academy of Circus Arts in Verona, the school run by the Togni circus family, where the former contortionist Giuly Cristiani shaped the act. The big top's October stops are Konstanz (1–6 October), Wangen im Allgäu (9–12 October), Kaufbeuren (15–19 October), Memmingen (22–26 October) and Heidenheim (28 October – 1 November). Knie's homepage lists some different October stops, so check the tour page before you travel.
Lorenzo Bernardi (@_lorenzo_bernardi_): Zirkus Charles Knie, southern Germany, 1 October – 1 November.
For something spookier, Papus Benzé Keita (@papi_flex_off), better known as Papi Flex, is performing at Traumatica, Europa-Park's Halloween horror event in Rust, on selected evenings until 7 November. Born in Conakry, Guinea, in 1994 and now based in Belgium, Papi Flex is a Guinness World Records holder and a member of the Maninka Company, and reached the semi-finals of Spain's Got Talent before appearing on Britain's Got Talent.
Papus Benzé Keita (@papi_flex_off): Traumatica, Europa-Park, Rust, selected evenings until 7 November (from the performer's posts).
Lili Paul-Roncalli is back. At the Vienna premiere of Circus-Theater Roncalli's 50th-anniversary tour on 16 September, Lili Paul-Roncalli returned with a newly choreographed contortion number dedicated to the performer's father. The tour plays Vienna's Rathausplatz until 11 October, so there's still time to see it there. Roncalli hasn't said whether the number stays in the programme for the following stops: Innsbruck (17 October – 8 November) and Linz (13 November – 6 December). The Roncalli Christmas circuses follow in Lübeck (from 10 December), Osnabrück, Berlin's Tempodrom and Bremen (all from 16 or 17 December).
Maxim Voronin (@magiccircusmax) is spending December with Rockin' Roncalli Weihnachtscircus at the Holstentor in Lübeck. Voronin was born in San Francisco, is a second-generation artist, and graduated with honours from the Kyiv Municipal Academy of Variety and Circus Arts in 2022. The act mixes contortion with magic and has already played Berlin's Wintergarten and Teatro ZinZanni. The quarter spans four countries: Vienna until 5 October, then a week-long variety show at K2 Comedy Club in Lithuania (12–19 October), then the opening of a new resident cabaret show in Phu Quoc, Vietnam, which runs until the end of November.
Lili Paul-Roncalli: Circus-Theater Roncalli, Rathausplatz, Vienna, until 11 October; later tour stops and Christmas circuses (reported). Maxim Voronin: K2 Comedy Club, Lithuania, 12–19 October; Phu Quoc, Vietnam, late October – November; Rockin' Roncalli, Lübeck, December (dates from the performer).
K.Juma (@hussein_yoga), also known as Hussein Yoga, is an extreme contortionist from Tanzania who now lives in Leipzig. His quarter takes in three very different shows. Until 4 October he is in Prosecco & Pailletten, the fifth-anniversary variety show by Alles Muss Ich Sehen in a mirror tent in Gera, alongside hair suspension, rola-rola and a live band. From 22 October to 1 November he is in Copenhagen for Circus of Torment, a Halloween horror circus in a haunted tent at Trianglen. In November he joins Breakin' Circus, the breakdance-meets-circus show from the Dancefloor Destruction Crew, which opens in Schweinfurt on 5 November and tours 24 German cities before a New Year run at Munich's Prinzregententheater.
K.Juma (@hussein_yoga): Prosecco & Pailletten, Gera, 10 September – 4 October (tickets). Circus of Torment, Trianglen, Copenhagen, 22 October – 1 November (tickets). Breakin' Circus tour, Germany, 5 November – 5 December, then Prinzregententheater, Munich, 29 December – 3 January (dates).
From late November, the German Christmas circuses take over, and three of them have contortion on the bill. The Kölner Weihnachtscircus opens in its Palastzelt by the Zoobrücke in Cologne on 27 November and runs 63 shows to 3 January. Its line-up is reported to include the Caduceus group and contortionists from the Mongolian National Circus. The Ravensburger Weihnachtscircus at the Oberschwabenhalle (17 December – 10 January) features the Hebei Acrobatic Troupe's balloon contortion.
In Magdeburg, the Magdeburger Weihnachtscircus has booked the Ecuadorian contortionist and dislocation artist Cesar Pindo (@cesarpindo). Pindo came to contortion from breakdancing and is billed as a "rubber man" who can fit inside a box 40 cm on each side.
Stuttgart's Weltweihnachtscircus (10 December – 10 January) has billed "The Angels from Mongolia", a nine-woman troupe. Whether that's a contortion act or the double-trapeze troupe of the same name isn't clear yet.
Paris is the cabaret capital of the world, and this quarter it has two contortionists in residence. HeeJin Diamond (@heejin_diamond), a Mongolian contortionist based in Paris, performs some nights at the Nouvelle Ève cabaret. HeeJin trained in Ulaanbaatar under the acrobat Tsetsegmaa Khuujig and then at the Arthur Honegger conservatoire in Le Havre, won a Bronze Clown at Monte-Carlo in 2010 with the Blue Sky Girls troupe, and has headlined at the Paradis Latin. The shows aren't nightly, so call the venue for dates. HeeJin also teaches in Paris and online.
At the Crazy Horse, the Ivorian contortionist Yaya Diarrassouba finishes a contract in October, so this month is the last chance to see that act there.
For those who'd rather train than watch, French contortionist Coralie (@coco_contorsion) runs an adult contortion and handstand workshop in Paris's 18th arrondissement on 14–15 November. Coralie is also performing on 3 October at the Fête du Guinguet in Juziers, a town festival of wine, music and street shows on the Place de la Gare (11am–9pm), then in Montmagny on 24 October and in Pantin on 31 October, with December shows on the 5th, 12th, 13th, 19th and 20th at venues still to be announced.
Just before Christmas, Jatta Borg is on tour in France from 11 to 20 December with Le Complexe de l'autruche, a show for eight hand balancers by a collective of equilibrists. It has been touring since 2021, and this is its final run. Expect handstands first, with any contortion a bonus.
Coralie (@coco_contorsion): Fête du Guinguet, Place de la Gare, Juziers, 3 October; shows on 24 and 31 October and 5, 12, 13, 19 and 20 December; workshop, Paris 18e, 14–15 November. Jatta Borg: Le Complexe de l'autruche, France tour, 11–20 December (dates from the performers; venues to be confirmed).
Adalberto Fernandez Torres (@adalberto.fernandez.torres), the Puerto Rican contortionist and CNAC graduate, is the contortionist in Mathieu au milieu, a children's show (age 5 and up) from Les Tréteaux de France, directed by Olivier Letellier. It tours from Brittany to Alsace: Saint-Brieuc (13–14 October), Rennes (19–20 October, at the Festival Marmaille), Aubervilliers (2–10 November), Mulhouse (17–20 November), Gonfreville-l'Orcher (3–5 December), Moëlan-sur-Mer (8 December) and Ergué-Gabéric (13–15 December).
From November, Phare, The Cambodian Circus brings its touring show Same Same to France and Belgium, with contortion among its acts. Chuob Kanha (credited as Kanha Chuob), the Phare contortionist we've featured before, is named in the cast at the Théâtre Sénart in Lieusaint (19–21 November) and at MC2 in Grenoble (9–12 December).
Nov Sreyleak (credited as Sreyleak Nov), a Phare contortionist for more than 12 years whom we've also featured before, is in both of those cast lists too. The tour also plays Elbeuf (28–29 November), Mulhouse (2–5 December) and Charleroi in Belgium (18 December), but those venues haven't published a cast, and the line-up changes between venues.
Adalberto Fernandez Torres (@adalberto.fernandez.torres): Mathieu au milieu, France tour, 13 October – 15 December. Chuob Kanha and Nov Sreyleak: Same Same, Lieusaint 19–21 November and Grenoble 9–12 December (named in the cast); other tour dates unconfirmed.
Two Cirque du Soleil touring shows with contortion acts cross Europe this autumn. OVO, whose insect world includes the contortion "Spiders" act and a silk-cocoon solo, plays the ING Arena in Brussels until 4 October, then Rouen from 8 October, Salzburg (21–25 October), Graz (29 October – 1 November) and the Adidas Arena in Paris (26–29 November). KURIOS, with its contortion act on a giant mechanical hand, settles in at Madrid's Escenario Puerta del Ángel from 30 October to 7 December. In Barcelona in September, the KURIOS contortion act was four Mongolian contortionists: Azzaya Ariunbold, Ayagma Tsybenova, Oyun-Erdene Baljinnyam and Doljin Batsukh. Casts rotate, though, so we can't promise the same line-up in Madrid.
In OVO, Cooper Yarosloski (@circuscoopr), whom we featured in May, recently marked two years with the show and is likely to be on this autumn's tour.
Cooper Yarosloski (@circuscoopr): OVO, Brussels to 4 October, then Rouen, Salzburg, Graz and Paris (likely; cast not published).
Canadian contortionist Anna Layne (@annalayne_) is touring Switzerland with Circus Monti until the season ends on 30 November. In April, Anna's graduation act was part of the end-of-year shows at Montréal's École nationale de cirque.
The aerialist and contortionist Dani (@danaerial) has a three-country run: Santiago, Chile on 4 October, the Czech Republic on 14–15 November and Switzerland on 21–22 November.
On the Turkish Riviera, Soy Alan (@soyalanartistayentrenador) is spending a long season in the hotel entertainment programmes around Antalya, from April this year until April 2027. The act plays six resorts: Marvida Eco, Moon Palace and Victory Resort in Side, Victory Be Mine in Manavgat, the Azura Hotel in Alanya and the Belpinar Hotel in Kemer. Some of these hotels close for part of the winter and Soy Alan doesn't yet know which, so if you're travelling out of season, check with the hotel first.
Soy Alan (@soyalanartistayentrenador): hotel shows around Antalya, Türkiye, until April 2027 (dates and hotels from the performer; some hotels may close in winter).
This autumn's most unusual contortion booking in Europe isn't in a circus at all. SEAWORLD VENICE, Austria's pavilion at the 61st Venice Art Biennale, is a permanent live installation by the Austrian choreographer and performance artist Florentina Holzinger. It imagines Venice after the flood, as part underwater theme park, part sewage works and part church, and an ensemble of musicians, dancers, acrobats and contortionists performs in it all day. Hannah Finn (@hannahfinn) is in that ensemble. Hannah is an American contortionist based in Brighton with well over a decade in the business, known for signature tricks such as the "No Arm Triple Fold" and the "Needle Fall", and has worked for clients including Xbox and Paramount Pictures. The pavilion is in the Giardini and is open Wednesday to Sunday, 11am–6pm, until 22 November, with performances throughout the day. The cast rotates and the pavilion doesn't publish who is on when, so we can't promise Hannah on any given visit. The show contains nudity, and photos aren't allowed inside.
Hannah Finn (@hannahfinn): SEAWORLD VENICE, Austrian Pavilion, Giardini della Biennale, Venice, until 22 November (listed in the ensemble on seaworldvenice.at; performance days not published).
Ruby Gaskell (@rubygaskell) is also listed under Performance on the pavilion's team page, and Ruby's Instagram bio currently reads "Venice Sea World". The same caveat applies: the cast rotates and daily line-ups aren't published.
Ruby Gaskell (@rubygaskell): SEAWORLD VENICE, Venice, until 22 November (listed in the ensemble; performance days not published).
RubberLegz (@rubberlegz), the German-born, Los Angeles-based dancer Rauf Yasit, is in a new contemporary dance work rather than a contortion act, but anyone who has seen the flexibility behind the stage name will want to know about it. Neighbours/From MotherLand is a co-production of the Kosovo National Ballet, Albania's National Theatre of Opera and Ballet and the International Dance Festival of Tirana, choreographed by Brigel Gjoka and Rauf Yasit, who both perform in it. It plays Tirana on 3 and 4 October, opening the festival, and has its Pristina premiere on 7 October. A self-taught breaker since 1998, RubberLegz earned the nickname for contorting into shapes other dancers couldn't, moved into contemporary dance in 2007, was named Best Dancer 2019 by Danza&Danza, and has worked with William Forsythe and the National Opera of Paris.
RubberLegz (@rubberlegz): Neighbours/From MotherLand, Tirana 3–4 October and Pristina 7 October (a dance piece, not a contortion act).
London's most dependable contortion ticket is still Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular at the Empress Museum in Earl's Court, where Bella Diosa (@bella.circus), featured in our September roundup, is still in the cast. It is booking until April 2027.
December brings the European premiere of Cirque Alice at the Royal Festival Hall (12 December – 3 January), billed with "mind-bending contortionists", though none has been named yet. Andromeda Circus (@andromedacircus), a regular in London's cabaret clubs, played The Box and Reuben Kaye's K Hole in September. No Q4 dates are listed yet, as bookings usually go up less than a month ahead, so follow the account.
For a Christmas night out south of London, Twisted Nymph (@twistednymphperformer), the Brighton-based contortionist and aerialist Carolyn Ailsa, tells us about a public date: the Hundred Watt Club's A Festive Evening of Burlesque & Cabaret at Cranleigh Arts in Surrey on 19 December (7:30pm, £23). The bill promises showgirls, comedy, vintage vaudeville and circus. With more than ten years in cabaret, Twisted Nymph works in contortion, aerial hoop and silks, and is known for an eerie, animalistic style, with horror-inspired contortion acts such as "Jigsaw" and "Regan" alongside festive ones like "Rudolph" and "Jingle Bells".
Twisted Nymph (@twistednymphperformer): Hundred Watt Club, Cranleigh Arts, Cranleigh, Surrey, 19 December, 7:30pm (from the performer; the venue doesn't list the acts). Tickets
Further west, the New York hand balancer, contortionist and hula hoop artist Dia Seskin (@drishdia) crosses the Atlantic for the Christmas show at The Bristol Spiegeltent on Bristol's Harbourside, 3 to 19 December. The venue's Christmas party nights pair a three-course dinner with a cabaret of international acts, a live band and a DJ, on 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 17 and 18 December (the 3rd and 10th are already sold out). Dia comes from gymnastics, dance and theatre, draws on traditional Mongolian contortion and flow arts, performs with the Bindlestiff Family Cirkus in New York, and has appeared at the Mongolian Contortion Convention.
Dia Seskin (@drishdia): Christmas at The Bristol Spiegeltent, Bristol, 3–19 December (from the performer; the venue doesn't list its acts). Book
Two youth events carry the Russian contortion tradition this quarter. On 11 October, the Circus Without Borders competition in Moscow has its own category for plastic étude and contortion, known in Russian as kauchuk, for ages five to adult. From 4 to 6 December, the Tula State Circus hosts the sixth In the Language of the World international children's and youth festival, with entries from Mongolia, China, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan. A Mongolian group-contortion troupe took silver there in 2023, and Tula is also Goloborodko's hometown.
Cirque du Soleil's KOOZA, whose line-up includes solo and duo contortion, pitches its big top at the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park, Sydney, from 17 October to 3 January. It's the Australian tour's final city after Melbourne and Brisbane. Brisbane reviews in August named Ninjin Altankhuyag, part of the Mongolian trio we featured in July and August, among the contortionists and singled out the "Triple-Tiered Contortion" act, in which performers "stack their bodies in deep backbends while balancing on handstands".
Sender Enkhtur (@sender.enkhtur) was in that trio with Ninjin in Melbourne in May.
So was Sunderiya Jargalsaikhan (@sunderiya234). The tour has moved straight from city to city, so both are likely to be in the Sydney big top too, but Cirque du Soleil hasn't published the Sydney cast.
Ninjin Altankhuyag, Sender Enkhtur and Sunderiya Jargalsaikhan: KOOZA, Entertainment Quarter, Sydney, 17 October – 3 January (Sydney cast not yet confirmed).
In Tokyo, the pole dancer and contortionist Eri (@eri_ellieee_contortion), a trainer at Contortion Studio Nugara, Japan's first studio devoted to contortion, has a busy October. Eri plays Cabaret Tokyo in Gotanda on 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 16, 22 and 23 October (late shows, from 9:30pm), appears in Tachikawa on 7, 14 and 15 October, and teaches a contortion workshop at Studio Lento in Kamakura on 4 October. At the end of the month Eri competes in Miss Pole Dance New Zealand in Palmerston North on 31 October, then is back in Tokyo for the House of Chloe birthday show at Shinjuku ROSSO on 24 November (8pm).
Eri (@eri_ellieee_contortion): Cabaret Tokyo, Gotanda, October; Miss Pole Dance New Zealand, Palmerston North, 31 October; House of Chloe, Shinjuku ROSSO, 24 November (dates from the performer).
Maxim Voronin's new resident cabaret in Phu Quoc, Vietnam (late October to the end of November) is one of the few new contortion engagements in Southeast Asia that we know of. In Cambodia, Phare, The Cambodian Circus continues its nightly 8pm shows in Siem Reap, where contortion is part of the programme.
In Ulaanbaatar, the Tumen Ekh ensemble, which puts contortion in every show, doesn't stop when the summer season ends. After its daily September shows it plays on weekdays from 1 October to 11 November. The rest of Mongolia's contortionists are spread across the world's stages instead, in Cologne's Christmas circus, at the Nouvelle Ève in Paris, on cruise ships and on tour in the US. In September, a Mongolian contortion act took silver at the first Tajikistan International Circus Festival in Dushanbe.
In Johannesburg, The Royal Countess Zingara: La Dolce Royal, Zingara's dinner-circus show, plays at Melrose Arch from Tuesday to Sunday at 7:30pm, with the run currently listed until 19 February. The South African contortionist Nokulunga "Lunga" Buthelezi (@lungsta.b), known as "Africa's Snake Woman", was in the Cape Town season earlier this year and posted about preparing for Johannesburg, so Lunga is likely in the cast, although the Johannesburg press lists don't name Lunga. Lunga started performing in primary school and has since appeared across Europe and North America and at the China Wuhan International Acrobatics Art Festival.
Nokulunga Buthelezi (@lungsta.b): The Royal Countess Zingara, Melrose Arch, Johannesburg, Tuesday to Sunday (likely; not confirmed in the Johannesburg cast).
For some contortionists, the stage this winter will be moving. Brazilian contortionist Thiago Miranda (@thiagocontorsion) joins the AIDAperla from 21 October until 3 April 2027. Thiago combines contortion with aerials and spent the spring and summer on sister ship AIDAstella.
Further south, the Ukrainian contortionist Alexandra Chala (@chalaa.official), now based in Germany, is finishing rehearsals in Berlin before starting a contract with TUI Cruises in October, performing on board around the Canary Islands for the next few months, with contortion part of the job. Alexandra hasn't named the ship yet, but TUI's Canary Islands ships this winter are Mein Schiff 7 and Mein Schiff Relax, sailing from Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, so it's likely to be one of those. At the YOUNG STAGE festival in Basel in 2022, Alexandra and Angelina Fedorko won awards from Circus Roncalli and the Europa-Park Talent Academy with a hand-to-hand and contortion duo.
Alexandra Chala (@chalaa.official): TUI Cruises, around the Canary Islands, from October for a few months (from the performer; ship and dates not yet confirmed).
TUI has another circus artist at sea this winter. Brayan Farias (@circontorneate), a hair-suspension artist, aerialist and hand balancer who has worked in Chile and China, tells us about six months on board Mein Schiff Flow, TUI's newest ship, christened in June. The Flow spends October to December sailing from Kiel and Hamburg to Norway, the Baltic and Denmark, then Western Europe over Christmas, before heading to the Canary Islands in January and the Caribbean later that month. Brayan hasn't said whether the act on board includes contortion.
Brayan Farias (@circontorneate): Mein Schiff Flow, TUI Cruises, from October for six months (from the performer; start date and show not confirmed).
Ulziibuyan "Ulzii" Mergen is a featured performer in Aqua Action aboard Royal Caribbean's Icon of the Seas, sailing seven-night round trips from Miami. Ulzii started contortion at the age of four and has performed in Cirque du Soleil's TOTEM. On the MSC Grandiosa, Cirque du Soleil's EXENTRICKS includes a contortion sequence, and the ship's theatre has a custom lift built specially for it.
Contortion's biggest TV moment of the year has already happened. Maria, an 18-year-old from Bavaria who spent two years unable to walk as a child after spinal inflammation, won four yeses in an America's Got Talent audition in July and reached the third quarterfinal before going out on 2 September. No contortion act made the finale, which the Thai guitarist Nene Royal won on 23 September.
This autumn, the best place to watch for new contortion talent on TV is France. La France a un incroyable talent returns to M6 on 7 October for its 21st season, with live quarterfinals for the first time.
Ukraine's Got Talent wrapped up with its final on 27 September, and the season produced a record. On 20 September, 14-year-old Vlada Kalashnikova from Kharkiv set a Ukrainian record by picking up an apple with her teeth while in a backbend, from a height of 86 cm. Guinness World Records Day falls in mid-November, and this year GWR has featured two contortion record-holders.
Eddie "Eddie Flexible" John Browne of Sierra Leone holds the record for consecutive backbend-handstand body revolutions (21).
Liberty Barros of the UK, who started at ten by copying a move from Rihanna's Umbrella video, walked 20 metres in a backbend knee-lock in 22.53 seconds.
In June, Oyindamola "Dflex" Kolawole, a top-ten finalist on Nigeria's Got Talent, broke a personal record with 150 skips in a minute with one leg behind the head.
Things to know: Around Christmas, France 3 traditionally broadcasts the Monte-Carlo circus festival. Last year's aired on 22 December.
RBOL (@elflexofficial__) told us more shows are lined up this autumn, but hasn't sent dates or venues yet. The two clips RBOL shared show the range. One is a floor solo at an "Echo Wave: The Neon Dream" night, built on splits, twists and deep folds. The other is a group rehearsal under a concrete flyover, with the troupe working partner balances and lifts. Follow the account for dates.
The quarter ends with announcements. Monte-Carlo's 49th International Circus Festival runs from 22 to 31 January 2027, and its line-up is expected in mid-December. The 2026 edition featured the Angels of Mongolian Contortion. The Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris (21–24 January), which counts contortion among its competition disciplines, should also publish its programme before the new year.
Contortion also has some departures to note. Switzerland's Nina Burri, perhaps the best-known Schlangenfrau in the German-speaking world, ended a contortion career in January because of injury. Burri continues on stage as a presenter and actor.
1. Aleksei Goloborodko in LUZIA, Ottawa and Vancouver. Still the standard for contortion. Catch the act in Ottawa before 18 October or in Vancouver from 4 November.
2. Così fan tutte at the Met, New York or your local cinema. Jonathan Nosan and Anna Venizelos in the Coney Island sideshow, until 23 October. It's the only pick on this list you can watch from almost anywhere, as the 3 October matinee is broadcast live to cinemas worldwide.
3. SEAWORLD VENICE, Venice Biennale. Hannah Finn is in the ensemble of Florentina Holzinger's live installation in the Austrian Pavilion, which runs until 22 November. It's contortion as contemporary art rather than circus, and it contains nudity.
4. Cirque du Soleil KURIOS, Madrid. Five weeks in Madrid, and the contortion act on the giant mechanical hand is one of the company's most striking images.
5. The German Christmas circuses. Cologne from 27 November, then Ravensburg and Roncalli Lübeck in December. Contortion is part of the family Christmas outing here.
6. Tigerpalast, Frankfurt. Romina Micheletty's hoop, handstand and contortion act, in one of the world's great variety theatres, runs all quarter.
7. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey, US arenas. Jordan McKnight's contortion and hand-balancing, at nine arenas from Des Moines (1 October) to Cincinnati (6 December).
8. Toria Summerville's Ontario tour. Twenty-four dates, four shows and a lot of dogs. It's the most accessible contortion in Canada this winter.
9. Coralie's workshop, Paris, 14–15 November. It's the only item on this list where you can try contortion yourself.
10. KOOZA, Sydney. It's the Southern Hemisphere's big contortion ticket, running from 17 October to 3 January.
If you're performing this quarter and aren't listed, send us your dates and we'll add you to the next roundup.
All 76 shows, tours, festivals and cruises from this roundup in one place. Filter by region or month, and tap a performer's name to visit their profile.
Jonathan Nosan, Anna Venizelos
Phelim McDermott's Coney Island staging, with a sideshow of real circus acts including two contortionists. Opened Sep 23. The Oct 3 matinee (1pm ET) is broadcast live to cinemas worldwide (Met: Live in HD).
Source ↗Katelynn McKamey
Performing lightly while recovering from an injury.
Source ↗No specific dates. Also private events around South Florida. Follow @contortionsisters.
Source ↗Sarah Scott Rex
Likely: Sarah's Instagram bio points to Superfrico and Spiegelworld, but the rotating nightly cast isn't published. 50 seats.
Source ↗Arena tour; McKnight performs contortion and hand-balancing.
Source ↗Toria Summerville
A canine circus tour. Hellarious is a 16+ Halloween show; the rest are for all ages.
Mary Pat Letourneau
Mary Pat Letourneau
Opening night on Oct 16 is confirmed. It's a separate event from Vegas Variety.
Source ↗Coralie Roberge
"Sort of a festival for Halloween" in a small town. Likely the town's annual Halloween Shannon family festival (not confirmed).
Source ↗A competition with 40+ acts and seven shows. Contortionists are named among the acts; the full line-up comes out festival week.
Source ↗Listings give the closing date as Dec 13, Dec 15 or Jan 10. Check Cirque du Soleil's site before booking late dates.
Source ↗Mary Pat Letourneau
Iris Ileven
Contortion and hand-balance in a touring holiday show.
Source ↗Mary Pat Letourneau
Dani
Marco's own show; date not set yet. Festival dates from the ticketing page (the poster's "1986" is a retro design).
Source ↗Oyun-Erdene Senge
Likely: Oyun-Erdene's Instagram bio says "Now performing @alegria.cirquedusoleil"; no official cast list.
Source ↗The act mixes contortion, hair hang, aerial and fire.
Source ↗Andromeda Circus
Dates usually go up less than a month ahead. Follow @andromedacircus.
Source ↗Dia Seskin
Dinner, cabaret, band and DJ on Dec 3, 4, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18 (3 and 10 sold out). The venue doesn't name its acts.
Source ↗Billed with "mind-bending contortionists", not yet named.
Source ↗Twisted Nymph
Public show; the venue page doesn't list the acts. Tickets £23.
Source ↗Romina Micheletty
Hoop, handstand and contortion act.
Source ↗Viktoriia Dziuba
Grand Show with the 2023 Monte-Carlo Silver Clown winner. Artists rotate, so check who's on the night you go.
Source ↗Hannah Finn, Ruby Gaskell
A live installation with performances all day by an ensemble that includes contortionists. Hannah Finn is listed in the performance team, but the cast rotates and daily line-ups aren't published. Contains nudity; no photos inside. Closed Mon and Tue.
Source ↗Lili Paul-Roncalli premiered a new contortion number in Vienna on Sep 16. Whether it stays in the programme for Innsbruck and Linz isn't stated.
Source ↗The contortion Spiders act and a silk-cocoon solo are part of the show. The Rouen date comes from press reports.
Source ↗The contract finishes in October.
Source ↗Soy Alan
Some hotels close for part of the winter and the performer doesn't know which, so check with the hotel before travelling.
Source ↗Not nightly. Call the venue for dates.
Source ↗Dinner show. Gomes won the audience prize at the Minsk festival in September. The exact premiere date isn't published yet.
Source ↗K.Juma (Khatib Khamis Juma)
Fifth-anniversary variety show with a live band. Named in the cast as "extreme contortion". Most dates sold out.
Source ↗From Papi Flex's own posts; event dates confirmed by the park.
Source ↗Contortion act "Man in the Box". Dates from the tour page; Knie's homepage lists some different October stops.
Source ↗A contemporary dance piece, not a contortion act. Co-choreographed by Brigel Gjoka and Rauf Yasit, who both perform.
Source ↗Coralie
Wine exhibition and tasting, craft market, concerts and street shows. The poster doesn't name the acts.
Source ↗Has its own contortion (kauchuk) category. Ages 5 to adult.
Source ↗Children's show (5+), directed by Olivier Letellier. The Mulhouse agenda gives Nov 18 – 19.
Source ↗K.Juma
About 95 minutes; recommended 12+. Arrive an hour early for the "CarnEvil" pre-show. From 275 kr.
Source ↗Coralie
Includes the contortion act on a giant mechanical hand. In Barcelona in September it was performed by four Mongolian contortionists: Azzaya Ariunbold, Ayagma Tsybenova, Oyun-Erdene Baljinnyam and Doljin Batsukh. Casts rotate.
Source ↗Coralie
K.Juma
Breakdance and circus from the Dancefloor Destruction Crew; Berlin is sold out. The tour hasn't announced its artists yet.
Source ↗Aerial act (Luftakrobatik), not contortion. Dinner show, 7pm (Sun 6pm), from €79.
Source ↗Coralie
A chance to train rather than watch.
Source ↗Dani
Chuob Kanha, Nov Sreyleak
Named in the cast (as Kanha Chuob and Sreyleak Nov) for Lieusaint and Grenoble only; other venues haven't published a cast and the line-up rotates. Continues to Lyon in January.
Source ↗Dani
The line-up includes the Caduceus group and contortionists from the Mongolian National Circus. 63 shows.
Source ↗Mongolia, China, Ethiopia and Kazakhstan are entered. A Mongolian contortion troupe won silver here in 2023.
Source ↗Coralie
Jatta Borg
A show for eight hand balancers, touring since 2021. Mainly handstand; contortion isn't confirmed.
Source ↗The Hebei Acrobatic Troupe performs its balloon contortion.
Source ↗Dates are confirmed. Lili Paul-Roncalli's appearance here comes from a regional guide.
Source ↗Contortion features in the current programme.
Source ↗Late shows (21:30 to 23:30). Contortion workshop at Studio Lento, Kamakura, Oct 4.
Source ↗Contortion is part of every show.
Source ↗Ninjin Altankhuyag, Sender Enkhtur (likely), Sunderiya Jargalsaikhan (likely)
Solo and duo contortion are part of the show. Brisbane reviews named Ninjin Altankhuyag and the Triple-Tiered Contortion act. Brisbane may run to Oct 4 (unconfirmed). Sender Enkhtur and Sunderiya Jargalsaikhan were in the Mongolian trio in Melbourne in May; the Sydney cast isn't published.
Source ↗A pole competition; Eri is competing.
Source ↗Likely: Lunga was in the Cape Town season and posted about Johannesburg preparations, but Johannesburg press cast lists don't name Lunga.
Source ↗Ulziibuyan Mergen
Seven-night round trips from Miami.
Source ↗The ship's theatre has a custom lift built for the contortion sequence.
Source ↗Alexandra Chala
Contortion is part of the act. Ship and dates to follow.
Source ↗Brayan Farias
Hair suspension, aerials and hand balancing; contortion not confirmed.
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