This invitation is not new — but it is now explicit.
At Tension, a large part of what we do is steady, deliberate work. Week after week, we teach. We focus heavily on fundamentals, on building good habits, on giving people a structure they can rely on. From beginner to advanced, the throughline remains the same: clarity, safety, and a practice that can hold over time.
That foundation matters. It is what allows everything else to exist.
And it is not the entirety of what this space can hold.
For a long time, Soirée Shibari has filled the room. The interest is there. The appetite is there. What we are choosing to focus on now is not simply maintaining that, but expanding what gets brought into the space.
The shibari world is not static. It evolves through individual exploration — through people asking different questions, working with different bodies, navigating different desires, and developing practices that respond to their lived realities. New ideas emerge from that. New approaches. New ways of understanding what rope can be.
Those are the voices we are actively looking for.
We are inviting presenters who are engaged in their own line of inquiry — people who have been exploring something, refining it, questioning it, and are ready to articulate it. Not because it is polished into a final form, but because it is real, grounded, and worth sharing.
We are not looking to repeat what is already widely available. We are interested in work that has not yet been centered, topics that have not yet been given space, and perspectives that expand how we think about practice.
At the same time, we are aware of a simple limitation: we do not know everyone, and we do not see everything that is happening.
So this is a direct invitation.
If you are working on something — reach out. Present yourself. Let us know what you are exploring.
The same applies, even more strongly, to performance.
We consistently hear that people are waiting to be invited to perform at Soirée Shibari.
That is not how this works.
Do not wait for an invitation.
If you are interested in performing, tell us.
We want to see what people are building in their personal practice. We want to see how rope lives in your body, in your dynamics, in your way of engaging with it. Performance does not need to be large, elaborate, or technically extreme to be meaningful. It needs to be intentional. It needs to be honest. It needs to hold attention because there is something real happening within it.
That is what makes it compelling.
There is space here for that kind of work.
With self-tiers arriving and TREX continuing to open different formats for exchange, the structure is widening. There are more ways to step in, to contribute, and to shape what this space becomes.
There are even multiple ways to get involved.
For educators, it is a straightforward rental or a 50/50 split, that offers assistance (door, & payment management, promotion, etc) and a lower-risk way to step into the space. Vibe with our values, come prepared, with a clear proposal and a strong sense of what you want to bring.
→ Apply as an educator: [EDUCATOR APPLICATION]
Performing is straight forward. You are paid a $200 "Cachet" for the performance, you receive photos, and your name(s) is added to our beam. We are actively looking for performers — do not wait to be invited.
→ Apply to perform: [ARTIST|E APPLICATION]
Our direction is clear:
We continue to build strong foundations through consistent teaching.
And alongside that, we actively open the door to voices, ideas, and practices that we have not yet encountered.
If you have something to bring — bring it.
We are paying attention.
