Marvel at contortionist

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Known on stage as Huit Huit, he is part of Afrika! Afrika!, a circus which opens in London next week.

It features a rich array of acts and more than 100 performers.

Dimbelelo, 38, and his family fled war-torn Angola when he was five, only to be plunged into starvation and poverty in the Congo.

He said: "Some days we would have only one meal a day. My father was a library director at the university but would go without pay for six months at a time. My parents could not afford to pay for my school... Corruption was rife. I began to think that I had to leave."

His ticket out came from a TV show. He said: "I was watching a Chinese contortionist and my friend said, 'You can do that!' I went outside and did just about everything that man had done."

At 20, Dimbelelo returned to a then peaceful Angola where he was talent-spotted by an adviser to the president and became his warm-up act as he sought re-election.

The contest led to renewed fighting. "A lot of people I knew were killed," said Dimbelelo. He fled to Brazil on a fake diplomatic passport and eventually made his way to Europe, where he joined the circus.

Afrika! Afrika is at the Tented Palaces, next to the O2 arena, from Thursday to 1 March. www.afrika-afrika.com