Intimacy as curiosity
To be intimate with someone is nothing but that: to make oneself familiar with them. The Latin intimare indicates, etymologically, this already. Over twelve years of teaching an intimate practice such as rope bondage, I have encountered a significant problem in this context. That which is familiar is considered close and it is this closeness, this proximity that seems to be widely understood as a precondition for the ability of making oneself familiar with one another. One could say that a very specific closeness to the subject is necessary, and any intimacy ceases to exist beyond a mysterious, undefined and yet demanded distance. This understanding of closeness as a precondition for intimacy is problematic on many levels, as it presumes not only so-called “able bodies” who can move closer to each other without barriers but also a natural hegemony of romantic love with its very specific codes and prescriptions of desire.
What if we take the call to make ourselves familiar with something or someone more literally and situate it in a seemingly different field of human endeavour? (From Georg Barkas. My year in researching intimacy. Hazlitt magazine. 2023)
Shibari/Kinbaku
Studio Allegory offers a wide range of educational programs revolving around queer intimacies.
One of the main pillars of that education consists of Shibari/Kinbaku (rope bondage) as a practice that involves art, philosophy, bodywork, eroticism, and therapeutic aspects. The contents of this pillar are centered around the teachings of Georg Barkas but include other approaches as well.
People who wish to learn Shibari/Kinbaku are guided and instructed in building blocks designed for practitioners to choose their own paths within a multitude of approaches.
How does it work?
- Intro to ropes
Every Friday, we offer 2h workshops for absolute beginners. Those workshops are based on a monthly rotation.
* No prerequisites or ropes needed for this class.
* You can come as a pair or alone. All exercises can be tied on oneself.
* We have enough time for switches to practice.
* You can enter the rotation at any given Friday, so no need to wait for the beginning of the month.
* Curriculum:- First Friday of the month: Single and double column ties and applications
- Second Friday of the month: Safety, consent, and pre scene negotiation.
- Third Friday of the month: Frictions and hitches – how do ropes stay on the body?
- Fourth Friday of the month: Upper body harness “Take Kote”
- Beyond the basics
Every 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Wednesday of the month for those who have already some experience with rope or who have visited the Intro cycle. Those workshops are tailored to the participants and are meant to be visited on an ongoing basis until you feel confident enough for the Intermediate classes (see next point)
* Prerequisites are basic knowledge of the contents of the intro cycle
* You can come as a pair or alone. There will be some exercises that are better to be tied on each other.
* We have enough time for switches to practice.
* You can come on any given Wednesday. No need to plan.
* Curriculum:- Expansion and solidification of the contents of the intro cycle.
- Tips and tricks for people in ropes
- Suspension and attachment lines
- “Hojo cuffs”
- and more
- Shibari Intermediate
Every Tuesday for those who want to practice Shibari/Kinbaku in a more extensive way and who want to elevate their skills to a degree where they can comfortably suspend as well as create ties rather than recreate. In these classes, practitioners are taught to understand the why’s of many of the common and less common techniques, sequences, patterns, and positions.
The Shibari Intermediate is both on a monthly rotation as well as tailored to the participants. We will announce a technique of the month which will be worked on for that month in different contexts (see below). At the same time, if the needs and wishes of the participants demand a specific variation or a deviation from that technique, we will facilitate that.
* Prerequisites involve basic understanding of suspension lines, good understanding of single column ties, as well as various frictions and hitches (half-, girth-, munter-, and reversed muster hitches)
* Tips and tricks for the person in ropes.
* Recommended for pairs but auditors always welcome.
* We have enough time for switches to practice.
* You can come on any given Tuesday. No need to plan.
* Curriculum:- First Tuesday of the month: Rope technique – Intro and details of the monthly technique
- Second Tuesday of the month: Suspensions – Via the monthly monthly technique
- Third Tuesday of the month: Floor work – Via the monthly technique
- Fourth Tuesday of the month: Challenges – Practitioners are challenged with various difficulties to deepen their understanding of the techniques developed in that month
- Shibari Self Suspension
Every First Wednesday of the month with @amnesia
Kink
Another pillar of the educational program of Studio Allegory is kink in general, such as impact play, fetishes, or power exchange. These contents will be offered by a variety of kink educators.
Further educational contents include movement practices, art programs, and life skills.
