In-person Workshop: Deconstructing Bamboo - Pauline Massimo at Espacio Nos

Workshop: Deconstructing Bamboo - Pauline Massimo

Date and times:

Saturday, March 30, and Sunday, March 31 from 10:00 to 18:30.

With lunch break.

Where:

Espacio Nos. Barcelona, Spain.

This will be an in-person/house event.

Workshop by Pauline Massimo where they will navigate with the participants in a 2-day intensive of experimentations with bamboo used in different ways, going beyond its classic use in Shibari, and creating a more modern, creative, and original narrative that adapts to different tastes.  In this intensive workshop, we will analyze and study the use of bamboo in Shibari beyond a tool where to make lines of suspensions, but also as a main element that collaborates with the body, as a means of reinterpretation of this art. This deconstruction will open the doors to elaborate creative tying and suspensions that can be adapted to different tastes, bodies, and needs in a Shibari session. Pauline will guide the workshop presenting their main concept and influences, they will share several exercises and practical techniques on how to use bamboo in unorthodox but efficient ways, and their demonstrations will serve as inspirations in the workshop so that each participant can explore adapting to their own needs and possibilities.

Both elements of great importance, body-bamboo, need to find a point of harmony where the rope, bamboo, and tying serve the body and not the other way around. In the teachings that Pauline always shares in Shibari, the model/bottom is and needs to be the center of the study for any experimentation and creation to work well, as Shibari models are not mannequins on which they are tied with little consideration to their well being, needs, tastes, possibilities, and limitations, so this workshop will have a bottom-centered approach from theory to technique.  The bamboo will be used as a dynamic suspension point at different angles (horizontal, diagonal, vertical AKA "Floating Hashira" and crosswise). Different sizes and thicknesses of bamboo will also be incorporated into the body to further explore the dynamics of "support-restriction" in combination with rigidity (bamboo) and adaptive (anatomy). During these explorations, Pauline will always be accompanied with their knowledge of anatomy, safety, and risk mitigation for possible accidents and injuries.

Participants are welcome to bring their bamboos if they wish. Espacio will provide bamboos of different sizes and characteristics to the participants during the workshop. If participants wish to purchase their bamboo, we recommend that they let us know as far in advance as possible.

Booking:

When booking this workshop, you must fill out the form correctly.

Audience and prices:

Mixed audience.

Ticket Couples/Pairs (one tying and one being tied) attending the workshop together.

Ticket Individual/Self-tying (solo).

Limited role swapping is allowed.

Discounts to annual members, people from marginalized groups with few economic resources can also apply for the discount if we still have places left. The discount is requested by email (espacionos@gmail.com) as far in advance as possible, as we have limited capacity and places with limited discounts.

*We offer payment plans if you apply well in advance.

Language:

Pauline will present the workshop in English and there will be the possibility to make the workshop bilingual in Spanish.

Pre-requisites:

It is very important to meet the requirements of this workshop to ensure that the group is at a uniform level of practical knowledge.

Both: know about safety, model anatomy, basic injury risks, and how to act in risk/emergencies.

Riggers/tying and Self-tying: Have a good command of single and double column tie, basic and complex frictions. Know how to tie a torso harness well (hands-free harness, Jiai, Tengu, Takate Kote, etc.) and know another lower body harness that is comfortable for the model (hip harness, futomomo, gunslinger, leg lacing, etc.). Know how to do at least one type of suspension line closure efficiently, and have a minimum of experience doing partial suspensions, additionally have experience doing full suspensions (not mandatory).

Model and self-tying: have sufficient experience and body awareness. Know how to communicate when something is not right recognize signs of possible nerve injury and differentiate from blood flow restriction. It is preferable and ideal that both models and riggers know each other a minimum inside and outside of Shibari and have a good understanding of each other's communication styles, expectations, and mutual needs during the workshop.

What do you need:

It is recommended to have a uniform set of 7.5 or 8-meter ropes and some shorter or extra-long pieces are recommended.

During the course, you will need approx:

- 2 new and strong ropes of good quality for the suspension line for the bamboo as a suspension point.

- 2 ropes as new as possible for (lifelines) for suspension on the bamboo.

- 2-3 ropes for secondary suspension lines.

- And the amount of ropes you usually use to tie 2 types of harnesses on the body (top and bottom).

- More ropes are always recommended, but not mandatory.

- Your safety scissors.

Artist Bio:

Pauline Massimo (no pronouns/they), with roots in Brazil and residence in Barcelona, co-founder of Espacio Nos and Learn Shibari.

With more than 11 years of professional experience in the field of art, from painting, dance, performance, photography, and Shibari to event organization, space management, education, community building, and artistic direction of projects.

As a Shibari teacher, Pauline focuses more on a non-dogmatic study and analysis of different art forms, focusing on the personal process of each individual they instruct. Their motivation by the interdisciplinary aspects that can occur in some art forms and the impact of intersectionality on the socio-political spectrum. They offer workshops, group and private classes, coaching, consulting, personal experience sessions, and talks varying between multiple topics and for all levels of experience or base of understanding, their motto is to democratize and demystify Shibari.

Their experience specifically in Shibari is born from a point of privilege where they were able to learn in a close and intense way with great Shibari masters of which she would highlight Akechi Kanna, Naka Akira, Hajime Kinoko, Kazami Ranki, etc. Although his participation in different festivals and having links with different Shibari communities in Europe gave him great experiences tying with, modeling, and hosting well-known artists such as Gorgone/Marika, Fuoco, Gestalta, George Barkas, Hua Hua, Tamandua, Tifereth and many more.

Pauline embraces in their technique and style both worlds of Shibari, where they learned from the aesthetics and classical Japanese motivations by these same great masters, with a deep admiration towards the evolution of this art without erasing its history of origin, but also has a great artistic restlessness with traces of contemporary and experimental counterculture art with a fixed look towards the technical, functional and aesthetic advances that Shibari brings to all of us, as a practice as it is: free art.

Important:

Only the two days of the workshop can be attended, no single days can be attended. We will have a person available in the space to help in any complicated situation that the participants may find themselves in, and to help take emergency lowering measures if necessary to ensure everyone's safety. If you would like to attend any or all of the workshops and do not have a partner (either as a model or rigger), please let us know. It is very possible that someone else is looking for a partner and we can put you in contact, the more familiar you are the better.