I was playing with fire at the birthday party of a dear friend of mine. As chance would have it, a few photos and videos were taken in the process:
Photos courtesy of DomChef.
Photography by DomChef.
Images are Copyright © 2013.
Videos courtesy of JessicaWabbitt.
Videography by JessicaWabbitt.
All content Copyright © 2013.
Many of the events that Benjamin and I go to are organised by friends of ours and many people have been asking as of late what these events are like and if they are fun to attend.
I try my hardest to avoid events which I think I may dislike or which I have attended in the past and found wanting, and many of the events we do go to are usually because we have been invited or because we have a Kabunza trade stand. But to make things easier and to help those who wish to know, I have decided to write up a few reviews of some of the events which we tend to frequent regularly simply because it is a damn good night out.
I am going to start with Benjamin’s favorite: BOUND Rope jam at The Flying Dutchman in London.
This is a fantastic night out created by Esinem, Nina Russ & Gorgone in collaboration with The Flying Dutchman in Camberwell, London.
A heady mix of Shibari demonstrations, tutorials, shows and socializing. If you enjoy rope bondage then it is simply a must to see.
Set in a small venue of a local historic London pub, whose mission is to promote difference, diversity, and the arts. Not only will you see live stage performances of full suspension rope bondage by some of the most world-wide recognized rope artists and models, but there is also ample space for those who attend to have a little bit of rope time themselves.
From the minute you walk through the door, you are surrounded by people who know what they are doing when it comes to rope bondage; from the traditional Japanese styles to our own western adapted forms.
Even if you are simply curious about rope bondage or attempting to learn yourself, it is a great place for inspiration and the people who attend are open and friendly.
The stage performances are of such a high caliber that I believe it is highly unlikely that you would get to see live rope art like this on a monthly basis anywhere else in the UK.
The event is held on the last Friday of every month, the night starts at 7pm and performances go on throughout the evening until 1am. Ticket prices range from: Early bird tickets: £5 (limited availability), Advance tickets: £15, On the door entrance: £20.
Some of the performers travel from as far as Tokyo to perform their talents, so as night-out’s go, BOUND is exceptional value for money.
This is not a large profit event and is run by local rope enthusiasts who put a lot of hard work and heart into making an evening which is entertaining and can be enjoyed by anyone of a like-minded interest, which is just one more thing that makes this event special.
Benjamin and I would highly recommend attending to anyone who has the inclination. It is simply a marvelous night out.
Photography used with the permission of http://bounduk.net/
After a night of Bound Rope Jam in London, Benjamin and I headed back to Chez Esinem for relaxation, good friends, more Japanese rope bondage, the best home cooked food anyone could hope for (supplied by the ever skillful Nina Russ) and even a little fire poi practice in the back garden (learning slowly, practice makes perfect. But having an audience of performers put on a little pressure).
An excellent couple of evenings.
This video is unedited.
Videography by Nina Russ.
All media is Copyright © 2013 AemiliaHawk. All Rights Reserved.
Japanese rope bondage and suspension, fire poi and floggers; Benjamin and I have just had an excellent weekend at Exodus UK.
And a few photos to add to the gallery.
After swinging around the unlit fire whips for a while, I decided to stick with the poi until more practice is gained. Fire whips are significantly bulkier and heavier than I thought.
Photography by Raven Imaging.
All images are Copyright © 2013 AemiliaHawk. All Rights Reserved.
After a wonderful weekend of 2 events, BOUND rope jam in London followed by the Exodus UK 2 year anniversary party in Birmingham, Benjamin and I have returned exhausted but elated from the experience.
As luck would have it; Raven Imaging photography was in attendance at the Exodus UK anniversary and after having such lovely images taken by them back in the October photoshoot, we decided another run of photos would be a prudent thing to do.
I managed to pick up my fire poi once again for more practice and Benjamin did his first public rope suspension (a very comfortable one I must add. It is very unfortunate that due to technical trivialities, we could not get any photos taken of this play).
Of course, this time around, given what I have lately been training and practicing in, the images that we did get mandatorily included fire.
Enjoy.
Of course, the weekend would not have been complete without an image of me and mine.
Photography by Raven Imaging.
All images are Copyright © 2012 AemiliaHawk. All Rights Reserved.
After an event filled and incredibly fun weekend, I have returned to my Bristol dungeon feeling emotionally replenished.
No doubt I will be writing up a short story or two about some of the antics that my Benjamin and I got up to, but for the moment I simply wanted to highlight the only media footage that we managed to procure during the course of the two days.
As some will know from reading my previous post, ‘Great balls of fire‘, I have always had desires to learn some of the heavier and performance forms of fire play. I have always had a fascination with flame.
When I received a set of basic fire poi for my birthday a few weeks ago, I was eager to start practicing.
So, in the big warehouse at Exodus UK in the latter of a Saturday afternoon, under the watchful gaze of the venues owner (who regularly plays with fire whips), doused in freezing cold water (so the clothing would be significantly less likely to catch aflame), the chill of winter creeping in, my sexy play partner on standby holding a huge water doused towel (ready to be thrown over anything, including me, should the worst happen) and fire extinguishers at the ready; I began my first attempt at the artform of fire poi.
Thankfully, you use them exactly like you would use a set of dual floggers. However my form still looks quite rigid due to the fact that I was “freezing my arse off”.
Here are the videos, part one and part two of the same practice session, taken using my iPhone (hence the limited resolution) by another watchful friend.
Enjoy.
Velvet Thoughts by Aemilia Hawk 