WTF Ropes: A Progressive Rope Education Course Series
About this event
Feb 2–Mar 9, Tuesdays 7–9pm + 1 hr practice 9-10pm. Mar 12 showcase. Per pair: $500 scholarship, $700 standard, $900 pay-it-forward. 18+
Ready to learn shibari from the ground up? This isn't a one-off class or a stack of online videos. It's a full curriculum that gives you a rock-solid foundation for the rest of your rope journey. Total beginners are welcome, and so are folks who've tied before and want to make sure their fundamentals are solid before moving on to higher-level topics. If you're ready to dive deeper and get serious about rope, come join us.
Enrollment is limited to 16 tying pairs, creating a dedicated learning environment with individual attention throughout the six-week series.
Over six weeks, we'll start with basic ties, single columns and fundamental knots, then build those elements into harnesses and the principles behind them. Along the way, we'll explore strategies for building juicy, hot rope bondage scenes that center exploring ourselves, our desires and each other. The series wraps with a capstone student showcase, where every tying pair gets to show off what they've learned for the group and anyone else they'd like to invite.
The student showcase welcomes everyone in the audience while continuing the same community-centered space as the course. Only students from this course will perform.
WHO IT'S FOR
All are welcome. This series centers queer and trans people, and allies are welcome and encouraged. WTF (women · trans · femmes) is a trans-inclusive acronym that centers sexual and gender minorities and nontraditional tying relationships. It also captures a feeling every rope person knows: "What the f*** is going on with this tie?!"
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN
• Single and double columns
• Basic frictions and hitches
• Rope fundamentals: tension, placement and handling
• Several harnesses, taught as generalizable building blocks rather than memorized patterns
• Body awareness and nerve safety
• Communication skills in rope
• Scene-building and connection
We'll approach these topics as value-neutrally as we can, given the culture we all live in. There are many ways to engage as a person in rope, and every exercise is designed so both partners benefit and learn. We'll share our own experiences of being in rope and offer concrete exercises created specifically for people in rope.
This is not a suspension class. If there's enough interest, we'll run an intro to suspension series next, with this series as the prerequisite.
OUR PHILOSOPHY
Above all, this series is about having fun with rope: feeling deeply, playing, communicating and connecting. We see rope as a framework for exploring ourselves and each other, not a means to an end or an end in itself. Our approach is rooted in curiosity and play, and we'll do our best to share the beauty and mystery of tying together.
SCHEDULE
• Tuesdays, February 2 – March 9, 7–9pm PST, followed by 1 hour of open practice and play
• Capstone student showcase: Friday, March 12
Missing a class? Just let the instructors know. They can share resources to help you catch up or set up a private lesson.
SLIDING-SCALE REGISTRATION
Pay-what-you-can / sliding-scale pricing is available for the full course series. Choose the tier that fits your circumstances: $500 scholarship (2 spots available), $700 standard, or $900 pay-it-forward. Each registration covers one tying pair.
WHAT TO BRING
• Your own rope: at least eight 30-foot lengths. Natural fiber is recommended but not required. Rope can be purchased at the Kink Store at the Penthouse location.
• Your tying partner. Pairs register together and should plan to attend all six weeks as a pair. It's a journey where we get to know ourselves and each other, after all!
SPACE AGREEMENTS
• All attendees agree to the Kink Store Events Code of Conduct (https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ElzKYxHEGU6nqNo53_ydf3AVI1_gLWlg5_983xGHdBk/view).
• Masks are highly encouraged.
• No chewing gum during class. Both instructors have misophonia, and we thank you for understanding.
• Respect for fellow students and instructors is essential to continued participation.
• This is an anti-racist space. Racism, ableism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, misogyny and any other -isms will not be tolerated.
• We're committed to making this space accessible to all. Please reach out with any accessibility questions or needs.
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS
Juno Sloane (Dancehalldyke, she/they) is a switch who likes to play with power dynamics, emotional vulnerability, and darker themes from both sides of the rope. Her style is a mix of traditional kinbaku with dynamic transitions and athleticism. She has a background in classical ballet, modern dance, and mathematical physics. In her vanilla life, she is a college professor, and has been teaching math and physics for 15 years. She is a student of Barkas, although she has many other influences and instructors such as Naka Akira, Tifereth, Kirigami, Soptik, and many more. She teaches and performs rope at home and worldwide, at Vox Body Studio, Temple New York, Dark Odyssey, Ropecraft, Tension MTL, Cord'Espace Quebec City, Northern Exposure Alaska, Birdhaus Toronto, EURIX, The Jungle House Costa Rica, and more. Her rope performances have been featured at EURIX, Seattle Erotic Arts Festival, Folsom Street Fair, SF Pride, Kinkfest, and many more.
Joey Moore, (joey_the_tiger, he/him) is a visually stunning aerialist known for his strength and graceful movement. On stage a good part of his life by way of performance groups, he has naturally taken to the skies. He performs on a variety of apparatus, specializing on dance trapeze and aerial straps with a ground act of juggling cube. He is currently a resident artist with Peoples Circus Theatre, a former resident artist at Berber SF as well as produces and directs the fundraiser “Spectrum”. Other performance highlights include: The 7 Fingers, Montreal Completement Cirque, Circus Bella, SF Aerial Arts Festival and the Western Australia Circus Festival. He currently teaches and performs around the San Francisco Bay Area.
