Editing Contortion (section)

== History ==
[[File:Ancient_Greece_Ceramic_Pelike_(28738255575).jpg|thumb|150px|Female contortionist shooting a bow and arrow with her feet, 4th century BC, Ancient Greece Ceramic]]
[[File:Mitchell Contortionist 1942 SLNSW FL9588673.jpg|thumb|150px|Contortionist David Mitchell, Sydney, 1942]]
The primary origins of contortion take place in [[Asia]]n traditions. In [[China]] and [[Mongolia]], traditional [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] [[Cham dance]]s would incorporate contortion into their movement. The success of these dances then encouraged the act to expand into other forms of performance. Contortion also found similarities and expressions in the Hindu doctrine of [[yoga]]. Throughout daily [[meditation]], yoga practitioners work to assume many similar poses to those in the [[Performance|performance-based]] contortion. The recognition of these similarities in various practices and thoughts brought contortion into more clear and explicit light. For those in the [[Chinese culture|Chinese tradition]], contortion is typically performed as a feat of [[acrobatics]], used to dazzle the audience with the unusual shapes built before them. According to Chinese historical records, early contortionism originated in [[China]] during [[Western Zhou|Western Zhou Dynasty]] (1045-771 BC), which matured in [[Sui dynasty|Sui Dynasty]] (581–618).

{{See also|Contortion#Glossary|l1=Glossary}}