Falling Into Form

Performance & Presence

“Falling Into Form: Performance & Presence” is the third and final workshop in a series exploring Gestalta’s style of tying through the lens of transitions—not just as movement between shapes, but as a core expressive element in rope itself.

This workshop brings together technical skill and creative intention. While earlier workshops build the foundations and complexities of transitions, this one turns to the question of expression: the way rope communicates, how presence can be cultivated, and how tying can be experienced as both an intimate exchange and a performative act.

This workshop is not only for those who wish to perform publicly. Presence is as vital in private play as it is on stage. We will explore how to create a sense of narrative and emotional resonance within a scene—through movement, stillness, rhythm, and attention. The focus will be on cultivating an intentional awareness that can be felt by your partner, and, if desired, shared with an audience.

Drawing on my experience as a rigger, performer, and researcher—where my MA focused on performance and the body—I will guide you through methods for building performance awareness into your rope. Together, we’ll examine how to shape experience, heighten connection, and develop rope that is not only technically sound but also deeply present & communicative.

A note on the ‘falling into form’ workshop series

The progression of this workshop series is not defined by increasingly complex technical skills (or “hard skills”.) Instead, it offers a multi-layered approach that brings Gestalta’s extensive experience as a shibari artist into conversation with their love of dance practice, and their academic background in performance art.

Foundations of Fluid Transitions explores foundational transition sequences whilst focussing on development of the core skills—such as fluid handling, body awareness, and efficient technique—that allow more advanced transitions to become sustainable, expressive, and safe.

Evolving & Deepening Transitions works with more demanding structures and sequences that challenge students to refine their practice and expand their creative possibilities, whilst developing a deeper understanding of how to use dynamic movement to create intense opportunities for play. It is perhaps the most complex part of this series on a technical level, and requires that both riggers and models have a well developed skill set.

Performance & Presence considers the language of rope beyond structure, sequence & form—whether in the intimacy of play or in the context of performance. It explores the architecture of a rope scene and focuses on cultivating awareness, presence, and intention to create engaging narratives for both audiences, and our models.