Improvisation is the act of making or doing something spontaneous, often either unplanned or using a score. Improvisation techniques are developed and used in may performance arts, such as theater, public speaking, and dance. These techniques allow us to act freely within a framework of our choosing, and can lead to the feeling of freedom within a supportive framework.
Many of these techniques can be applied to rope bondage, a practice which often is often improvised; many perhaps start with a tie, an idea, or a framework, and tie together freely with that foundation, adapting what happens in a session to the moment and the needs of the individuals involved.
In this workshop, we will touch upon several methods of improvisation and how they can be used in rope bondage. We will learn what a “score” is and how it can be used to build a session, explore how to use partner dynamics to direct our play, and how to use other tools besides rope to influence a session (such as costumes, toys, music, set, and setting). We will bring in the understanding of what a ritual is, and how ritualization can be used as a means for setting the tone of a scene. And finally, we will discuss how improvisation can be used when constructing a rope performance, experimenting with short performance scores of our own during the workshop.