Here’s the long overdue second part to the blogging of the Viennese rope festival at long last.

So after the great opening night and some wonderful shibari followed by some wonderful beer, there’s more good stuff to come. In our case this includes some classes to teach, some time with good friends and another show before the festival proper is all over.

Our class is on suspension transitions and I have to say that I was very pleased how seriously everyone who came took the class requirements. They were all capable of doing the class and that’s a great relief to me. It isn’t always the case that people have the ability to assess their skill level objectively.

Particularly satisfying in a class like this is to help those who have troubles related to relative weight and strength, this applies in the main to female tops with male bottoms. It’s really great to see them execute transitions that they previously thought impossible with the benefit of improved technique. One of the great joys of teaching for me is seeing a tangible improvement in someone’s bondage and seeing the joy that brings.

We hadn’t planned on doing a second performance but well we did. This in a very industrial looking section of the old Ottakringer brewery. It was cavernous and wow that ceiling is high!

Pre show memories include much of the unique Viennese lemonade (Almdudler), watching other shows and skipping through the venue hand in hand with Kamijoo Saki. We had a great night of shibari with friends.

Finally the end of the festival for us included a wonderful night at the Vienna shibari dojo with all its organisers, the people who had come to present and perform at the festival including our friends from Italy Riccardo and Ale (Kinbakuluxuria and Redsabbath) the prime organiser of the festival and the instigator of the Vienna Shibari festival Barkas.

I remember Barkas and I talking philosophy and exhausting the red wine late into the next morning. Saki and her model Yumi asleep on the tatame and everyone having had a very good time.

It was with a heavy heart and with having made new rope friends in Austria.

We loved it and we hope there will be another festival with or without us as it was a great shibari event.