If you have ever sent a coiled Slinky somersaulting down a flight of stairs, the moves in this dance performance will look familiar. Veniamin Shows Inc.’s“Human Slinky” mimics the movement of the undulating coils of a Slinky to create this odd, yet alluring bright neon performance.
The troupe consists of Romanian gymnastic duo Veronica Chicioroaga and Veniamin Oprea. Their performances date as far back as 1995, the Human Slinky appearing at sports games half-time shows, variety shows, and festivals around the world.
The Human Slinky is an internet sensation, and it’s easy to see why. In this video, two performers inside giant tubes manipulate the colorful material, making it retract, bob, sway, and form various patterns much like toy Slinkies.
While the Slinky toy itself was first sold in the 1940s, it’s difficult to pin down the origins of the Human Slinky dance. Other dancing troupes have incorporated the style into performances, such as the masked Swiss theatrical dance crew Mummenschanz, which does a number of various bizarre dance styles. The troupe is said to be the “original masters” of the human Slinky, reports the Huffington Post.
The two-person Human Slinky team produces other “unusual specialty acts.” They have done a number where the two play two octopuses.
They have shimmied as blowfish.
And if the Slinky costumes didn’t already look alien enough, the dancing troupe also does a performance called “Veniamin’s Eyes" in which they move like weird bug-eyed monsters.
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