As a child, I remember being amazed by the contortion acts when the circus played on TV. I was very young, and I grew up in a small village in the countryside of Gran Canaria.  At that time, I never imagined that I could ever achieve any of amazing feats that I saw on TV, especially because I was not that naturally bendy. 

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I was always very creative though. I used to wear my family's clothes, and I started dancing all by myself, until the age of 12 when I joined the theatre company at school. There was not much bendy stuff going on there, but at least it was an entry into the performing arts. Eventually I went to college in the island capital, and I got to attend ballet classes in the most prestigious classical dance school in Gran Canaria. Obviously they did not pay any attention to me because I was a total amateur! At that time I was 18 years old, and I was told I was "too old" for ballet.

 

I was amazed by the flexible dancers, and they heavily inspired me to stretch. I arrived every day 4 hours early to start stretching, and in 4 months I got my splits...all self-taught. No one was telling me how to stretch - I was just copying everyone else. In the ballet classes as well, I hardly received any corrections from the teachers.  Again, I just copied the other dancers. Soon I moved to a smaller school where the teacher paid more attention to me, and I was even cast in some acts for the annual "All Schools Festival." There I saw the dancers from Ballet Maspalomas, who were all very flexible with incredible lines.  I was immediately inspired to train with their coach Conchy Rodriguez, and I then joined her flexibility classes. I was by far the least bendy person in the class, but it was the first time that I managed to attend a class dedicated to becoming more flexible. Today I still use some of Conchy's exercises. 

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Somehow by attending dance schools I eventually achieved flat splits, which I thought was my limit, but I still wanted to get even more flexible. Amazed by the gymnasts, I decided to start gymnastics classes. I joined the best gymnastics gym in Gran Canaria, and I learned a lot of active flexibility exercises there. Some of these exercises I still use today, but the best thing about this gym was that the main coach was also teaching aerial circus which I got so addicted to. I saw aerial training as another step forward in my performer's learning process. 

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I was already 31 when I moved to London. It took me a while to find a circus school, but I found a job as a volunteer at Aircraft Circus, and this job allowed me to take some classes and to carry on with my aerial training. Through this school I also met a couple of performers who connected me with some events, one of which was Cirque le Soir. In this company I met the incredible contortionist Iona Luvsandorj, and I was amazed by her. I was so impressed that I could see in person what I had only seen on TV as a child. Surprisingly, Iona was teaching contortion classes. She said that I would definitely improve my splits with her classes. Excited again, I started my training with Iona, and yes I improved my splits a lot! Because of this improvement, I started thinking that maybe it wasn't too late to become a contortionist after all. A couple of years later when I was 36, Iona started helping me with my back flexibility. She said that my backbends would improve, but nobody expected me to achieve what I have gone on to achieve today. 

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These days I have taken classes with some of the biggest names in contortion: Jasmine Strada, Catie Brier, Jonathan Nosan, Pixie le knot, Orissa Kelly, Hannah Finn, to name just a few, and I have learnt something from every one of them. I am very  thankful to all of them, and I am also thankful to my dance teachers and gymnastics coaches who helped me a lot along the way.  But what also helped me to become a contortionist was my strong courage, my passion for the skill, and my unstoppable drive to improve. And that is something I show in all of my classes. Apart from having a good combination of ballet, gymnastics and contortion techniques, I encourage my students to work hard and believe that everything is possible. If I did it, you can do it too!

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My classes are especially designed for people who have started or who want to start their contortion journey as an adult. However, after 6 year of teaching in circus schools, pole studios, dance schools, and even teaching flexibility for dance degrees, I can say that my classes are beneficial for everybody, wherever they are on their journey.

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If you have been told that you are "too old," "too tall," or "too anything" to become more flexible, prove them wrong like I did!  Join my classes. Let me be part of your "bendy journey." And you will be a part of mine too. Because I evolve as you evolve and we will all grow together.

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Set your goals -> Follow your dreams -> Succeed

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From my bendy world to yours with love

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Adrián