Foto: Kaya Küppers, Model: Lokka, Touw: Lokka

 

The dates for this course are 23 February, 2 and 9 March. Tickets are only available for all three days and you are expected to attend each date. You cannot buy separate tickets and there won’t be any catch-up possibilities.

 

This is the third part (Uplines) in my selftying series. An overview of all workshops planned can be found here:

19 + 26 January – Basics
2 + 9 + 16 February – Structures
23 February + 2 + 9 March – Uplines

 

Why selftying?

Selftying offers a valuable way to explore rope without needing to rely on a partner, as well as a chance to connect with one’s own body and emotions. Learning opportunities for those without a tying partner, or those who prefer to work solo, are still limited. This workshop aims to help fill that gap.

 

Teacher

@Lokka (she/her) is a upcoming teacher and has hosted the @AlmeerseRopeJam for 4 years. As a rope switch and selftyer, she began by teaching solely from the model’s side, and is now expanding into the role of teaching rigger and selftyer. Her style is mostly improvised, supported by a strong technical foundation. While she primarily selfties for practical reasons, her approach also touches on its emotional depth.

 

In selftying, Lokka enjoys challenging herself with shapes that seem impossible to achieve alone, and finding ways to make them work anyways. She explores the capabilities of her body and mind, often discovering creative tricks she might not have considered when tying with a partner.

 

When tying with a partner, her focus is on the connection, not the rope. Rope becomes a shared language, a medium through which something intimate and magical can unfold. She ties with someone because she wants to spend time with them, the rope sort of happens to be there and with it, together they create magic. Whether standing as a model or being closer to the floor as a rigger, she enjoys the dynamics that floorwork brings her.

 

Location

The venue is in Hilversum of which you will get the address of once you have bought a ticket. Parking can be a bit hard, as the reviews of the parking garage closest by are very bad and good ones are at an 8 minutes walk. Hilversum Station is also 10 minutes away by foot.

 

When you arrive at the building, the entrance is near the bike parking. The door is locked, so someone will be awaiting you there.

 

The space is located at the 5th floor and there is NO LIFT, making the venue quite inaccessible. The spiral staircase has some space to rest in between floors if needed.

 

The temperature in the space can be a bit hard to manage, so it would be wise to bring both warm and cold clothing. Mats are provided.

 

For whom?

This is a course for those who feel confident tying structures and are ready to take them into the air. Anyone who has completed Lokka’s Structures course (and has made the content their own) will be at the right level to participate.

 

Although the focus is on self suspension, the course is also suitable for those who are relatively new to suspension in general or want to refresh their understanding of suspension fundamentals. Whether the interest lies in selftying, rigging, or modelling, the material is relevant across all roles. The skills learned here can be applied to partnered rope as well. So while it is a selftying course, being an active selftyer is not required, as long as the requirements listed below are met.

 

Requirements

• Awareness of your own physical abilities and emotional boundaries;
• Physical ability to comfortably wrap rope around your own upper and lower body in a seated position;
• At least 6x 8m of rope – preferably jute or hemp (you can buy jute @Ellipsis ropes at the event as well - €50 per 3x 8m);
• Independently making suspendable structures on both lower and upper body and being able to explain why they are suspendable;
• Good understanding of frictions and rope handling skills.

 

If you have any doubts or questions about whether or not you meet the requirements, please feel free to send a message to @Lokka.

 

Schedule

For each date this is the schedule:

• 18:30 Door opens
• 19:00 Start tuition
• 20:30-21:00 Break
• 22:30 End tuition

 

At 19:00 the tuition actually starts, so be on time. If for whatever reason you’ve been delayed, send a message to @Lokka before 19:00 so that she can take this into account.

 

Content

The main focus of this course is to build a solid understanding of how uplines work, how to manage them effectively, and the different approaches to suspension. We will explore:

• Several ways and the logic of tying off uplines;
• Spotter skills;
• Basic suspensions based on:
  o “Single Column Tie based” suspension
  o “Loop based” suspension
  o “Structured” suspension

 

While the focus will be on the topics listed above, rope handling and safety considerations are deeply integrated throughout the course.

 

Due to the nature of the workshop, you are expected to spot each other during practice that involves uplines on yourself. This means that you have to form a duo with someone and that you will be sharing a hardpoint with them. Depending on how many tickets have been sold, you will have your own hardpoint for some exercises that don’t require a spotter. We will make duos as we go along (after a round of introduction and consent talk). You do not need to apply with a +1 for this reason.

 

By the end of this course (if you have participated on every date) you will have a solid base to return to for (self-)suspensions. If you have mastered the content (after practicing on your own), you will be ready to start diving into more complicated/elaborated (self-)suspensions.

 

The workshop will be taught in English unless all participants speak Dutch.

 

Tickets

There are 10 tickets available for this workshop, priced at €200 per person. There are also supporteR (€150) and supporteD (€225) tickets available. Because of the supporteR tickets, the supporteD tickets are possible.

 

This workshop can be booked as part of a package deal with the other selftying workshops (Structures and Uplines – see the overview at the top of this page for these workshops). When followed consecutively, the requirements are automatically fulfilled.
If you book the package, you pay €400 instead of €475.

 

In all cases, send a message to @Lokka to apply and receive the ticket link. If the price is (one of) the reason(s) to not come, please let me know so that we can find a solution together. Paying in installments is possible, as long as the full amount is received before the start of the course.

 

If for whatever reason you cannot come anymore, there is no refund policy and finding a new ticket holder is your own responsibility. Once you’ve found a new ticket holder, let me know, so the guestlist can be adjusted. This goes double if you have bought a series ticket.

 

Food/drinks

There will be coffee and tea available and some (vegan) snacks during every evening. Feel free to bring your own.

 

Rules

See these rules that apply during this event. By attending this event you agree to these rules.

 

Find this event and more rope events @RopeEventsNL <3