15-year-old Muhammad Sameer is a real head-turner
Teenage dancer is able to rotate his head 180°
The 15-year-old says that while it doesn't hurt him to perform the stunt, he doesn't advise others to try it. PHOTO: ATHAR KHAN/EXPRESS
KARACHI:
While most teenagers are busy studying or meeting their friends, 15-year-old Muhammad Sameer is using his dancing skills to support his family.
Sameer is the eldest among six siblings. His mother is unemployed and father is a part-time labourer. The teenager, who was educated until fourth grade, no longer lives with his family in PIB Colony. He prefers to live with his trainer in Federal B Area. It is from here he goes for his dance performances almost every day with his dance troupe the 'Dangerous Boys'.
One of Sameer's strangest and most unique feats, however, is the reason he has been making rounds on social media - he is able to turn his head 180° and is being called a 'human owl' due to his flexibility.
His stunts have garnered admiration from most quarters, especially the youth. Sameer uses his hands to rotate his head and look directly behind him.
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According to him, a scene he saw in an Indian movie when he was younger inspired him to try the stunt. Later, he tried to turn his neck and was unexpectedly successful when he was five years old. Since then he has been doing the trick to amuse people and earn a few hundred rupees.
"I was surprised myself when my neck turned 180° and since then I discovered that I had abnormal flexibility in my bones," explained Sameer. "I consider it God's gift to me as very few people are as flexible as I am," he said proudly.
Sameer never fails to showcase his moves during dance performances and considers himself a gymnast due to his flexibility. According to the teenager, he practices for around four hours every day.
"I don't [experience pain] when I turn my neck but my breathing stops when I do this," he explained, cautioning youngsters from performing neck twists because they could damage their wind pipes or end up with a broken neck.
"I learn stunts and gymnastic moves via videos on YouTube by picking up the angle from the video and later practicing it on a daily basis," Sameer told The Express Tribune.
Asher Khan, the choreographer of the dance group, said he discovered Sameer in a Dhobhi Ghat where had come to perform a stunt as a 'human owl'. "Seven years ago, he used to earn Rs50 a day while working at a motorcycle mechanic shop," Khan recalled, adding that since then he has been teaching Sameer to dance.
Besides his dance practices, he also has to keep his parents and siblings in mind. He pays their house rent and gives them between Rs1,000 to Rs2,000 every time he sees them, which is at least once a week.
"It's my dream to be featured in a horror movie in Hollywood or perform on some foreign platform to represent Pakistan as I have already performed in more than 2,000 shows in the country with varying crowd sizes," Sameer said.
While most teenagers are busy studying or meeting their friends, 15-year-old Muhammad Sameer is using his dancing skills to support his family.
Sameer is the eldest among six siblings. His mother is unemployed and father is a part-time labourer. The teenager, who was educated until fourth grade, no longer lives with his family in PIB Colony. He prefers to live with his trainer in Federal B Area. It is from here he goes for his dance performances almost every day with his dance troupe the 'Dangerous Boys'.
One of Sameer's strangest and most unique feats, however, is the reason he has been making rounds on social media - he is able to turn his head 180° and is being called a 'human owl' due to his flexibility.
His stunts have garnered admiration from most quarters, especially the youth. Sameer uses his hands to rotate his head and look directly behind him.
Pakistan's Street Child World Cup heroes used, abused and forced to scrape a living
According to him, a scene he saw in an Indian movie when he was younger inspired him to try the stunt. Later, he tried to turn his neck and was unexpectedly successful when he was five years old. Since then he has been doing the trick to amuse people and earn a few hundred rupees.
"I was surprised myself when my neck turned 180° and since then I discovered that I had abnormal flexibility in my bones," explained Sameer. "I consider it God's gift to me as very few people are as flexible as I am," he said proudly.
Sameer never fails to showcase his moves during dance performances and considers himself a gymnast due to his flexibility. According to the teenager, he practices for around four hours every day.
"I don't [experience pain] when I turn my neck but my breathing stops when I do this," he explained, cautioning youngsters from performing neck twists because they could damage their wind pipes or end up with a broken neck.
"I learn stunts and gymnastic moves via videos on YouTube by picking up the angle from the video and later practicing it on a daily basis," Sameer told The Express Tribune.
Asher Khan, the choreographer of the dance group, said he discovered Sameer in a Dhobhi Ghat where had come to perform a stunt as a 'human owl'. "Seven years ago, he used to earn Rs50 a day while working at a motorcycle mechanic shop," Khan recalled, adding that since then he has been teaching Sameer to dance.
Besides his dance practices, he also has to keep his parents and siblings in mind. He pays their house rent and gives them between Rs1,000 to Rs2,000 every time he sees them, which is at least once a week.
"It's my dream to be featured in a horror movie in Hollywood or perform on some foreign platform to represent Pakistan as I have already performed in more than 2,000 shows in the country with varying crowd sizes," Sameer said.