Tuesday, January 8, 2008

LUNGA THE PYTHONESS



A vivid reminder to us all: flexibility is sooooooo much sexier than rigidity!

Lunga Buthelezi has been a snake girl since the age of 3 months. She recently shot to international fame with her appearance in a musical called Afrika! Afrika!. This video clip was taken off Dutch TV. Thanks, Judy, for forwarding the link! Made my day :-)

A lot of people are irrationally afraid of snakes, but I have always found them extraordinarily fascinating, beautiful and mysterious. One possible explanation for this deeply ingrained ophidiophobia might be found here!



Nokulunga Buthelezi is so naturally flexible that her mother found her asleep one day when she was three - with her legs tucked behind her neck. Nokulunga, whose name has been shortened to Lunga for the stage, achieves seemingly impossible positions with ease, then ratchets up the act with excruciating twists and turns.

The performer, who now financially supports her mother, grandmother, aunts and cousins, said: "There are so many kids out there in Africa with talent, but I had something different. My mum saw someone doing acrobatics and they mentioned that there were auditions for an American circus. She took me along and they were impressed. When I went to America, I did not even speak English and I had no chaperone, just a tutor for my education. It was tough at first but my family supported me because they knew I was following my dreams."