I had the pleasure of asking Aruna Bataa some questions about her journey and experiences as a contortionist. As a former Cirque du Soleil contortionist, she always amazes the audience with her incredible flexibility and skills. She has been able to honor the long tradition of showcasing the ancient Mongolian art form around the world. Below are her responses.

Q1: How long have done contortion for?

23 years

Q2: How did you start contortion?

Got inspired by contortionists when I was a kid

Q3: How often do you train and for how long?

It depends, right now I’m training 4 times a week for about 2hrs each training session

Q4: What is your favourite contortion move/trick?

Definitely Mouth Trick

Q5: What has been your best contortion experience?

Getting to perform

Q6: What is your ultimate contortion goal/dream?

Don’t know…

Q7: Best advise you’ve received?

Can’t think of anything specific

Q8: What does a usual day of training look like?

Pretty much what you guys see on my IG

Q9: What is your preparation for a performance?

Good warm and conditioning

Q10: What or who is your biggest motivator in contortion?

Don’t know…

Q11: What goes through your head when you’re doing a contortion performance?

It depends how comfortable I am with my act… but usually I’m very focused on my performance so don’t have anything specific in my mind…

Q12: Do you get nervous? How do you overcome your nerves?

Of course, getting nervous means you care about the performance