a tortuous and twisted shape or position; "they built a tree house in the tortuosities of its boughs"; "the acrobat performed incredible contortions"
A circus genre in which a performer displays how his (her) muscle are flexible and joints mobile. One of old poster name of this genre is "The Snake Woman". As these acts are performed by women in most cases and feature specific movements they are very popular among male audiences in circuses.
Contortion (sometimes contortionism) is an unusual form of acrobatic display which involves the dramatic bending and flexing of the human body. Contortion is often part of a circus act.