Extreme balance: a contortionist’s story

The ancient art of contortion led one headstrong child out of her home nation to the circus and on to balancing business with wellness. THEO PANAYIDES meets her

For best results when reading this piece, I suggest you first go to YouTube and watch Otgo Waller in action – seeing, for instance, how she turns (or used to turn) herself into a kind of human package, resting her chin on her feet as other people do on their hands. We can talk about a ‘Marinelli bend’, but you really have to see it to believe it ...