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Internationally renown contortionist Jonathan Nosan’s flexibility is not natural, he’s simply well trained.
...Read moreInternationally renown contortionist Jonathan Nosan’s flexibility is not natural, he’s simply well trained.
Unable to touch his toes at 22, Nosan changed career paths after an academic Fulbright in Kyoto (where he trained Butoh with Katsura Kan) to circus, theater and and contortionism. With the intent to challenge his body as much as he’d challenged his brain, he trained physical theater and circus in London and then three years as a contortion student of Mr. Lu Yi at the San Francisco Circus Centre.
Jonathan has created a unique life as a performing artist based in New York City of performing and teaching. Recently back from a two year international tour with the spiegeltent circus theater show LIMBO, he balances corporate productions with his company Acroback and art performances with his avant garde show Bagabones. His film work includes stunt doubling Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas as well as Cirque du Freak, The Bounty, Big Fish, and The Cell. His commercial work has taken him to contort in South Africa for an Arabian tea company, run nearly nude for Mercedes in Tokyo, and contort on top of buildings in LA for Hagaar. Stage credits include twisting and moving in monodramas at Lincoln Center, perched as Prometheus unbound at La Mama and two years with Twyla Tharp in her musical The Times they are a Changin’.” His contorted print work includes: W, Men’s Health, Esquire, Esquire Thailand, Business Week and New York Magazine.
In 2002 Jonathan spent one year creating Mirror Man—5,000 glass mirrors seamlessly mosaic tiled into a Performance Art piece which has traveled the globe for clients including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Lady Gaga, Takashi Murakami, and the NY Festival of Light.
His students have continued to Cirque du Soleil and include dancers of all genres, yogis, crossfitters, circus and civillian extremists with a teaching history including The International Contortion Convention (ICC) Cologne (2014), ICC Las Vegas (2012), Circus Warehouse NYC, Body & Pole NYC, Zurich Pole, Circus Adelaide, London Contorture at The Place, Sankalpah Yoga NYC, Pure Yoga NYC,Radu, Fly Fitness NYC, Crunch Gym Soho, and The International Pole Convention 2011
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Class Descriptions
Contorture™ is a new method of conscious mobility, strengthening and stretching with a total body connection. With all his training in his 20s, Jonathan’s way resonates incredibly well for adults seeking extreme flexibility. It is “Backbending from the Front”—concentrating, strengthening and smartening the core and hip flexors to take the “brunt work” out of the back to create a feeling of release.
Alignment and extension combined with inversions of headstands, forearm stands and handstands create the basis of Contorture™ as we learn to focus on micro muscles and movement. Breath control, moving through deep flexibility inversions and ultimately contorting ensues—from grand battement to hollow backs, you’re going to feel a difference and rethink how and where to move, engage, and “fire” from to bend, twist, kick, balance and invert with strength and smarts.
Class begins with opening of hips, smartening of core through headstands, deeper hip opening in square lunges and splits, handstands, back and then more back, finishing with a freestyle time to work on individual moves. Suggested ability: 30 second Tripod Headstand away from wall, 30 second Handstand at the wall and 30 second bridge/full wheel.