A Guide to Our Event Formats

Rope Jam, Peer Rope, Study Group, Workshop, Shibari Sketches — if you are looking at our schedule for the first time, the names do not tell you much. This is a plain description of every format we run at NekoNeko: what actually happens in the room, who it is for, and what you need to bring.

Everything below takes place at our studio in Stari Grad, Belgrade. Rope is available at the studio if you do not have your own, and for almost every format you can come with a partner or on your own. Prices, levels and the number of spots are listed on each event page.

Beginner Rope Jam

Never tried shibari before? This is the best place to start.

We begin with a short introduction circle so everyone can get to know each other and feel more comfortable in the space. After that we spend about 1.5–2 hours on the basics of rope through a mix of simple exercises, demonstrations and discussion: safety, different types of rope, tension and countertension, rope handling, and ways to interact and play with a partner through rope. There is plenty of time to ask questions and learn by doing.

The final hour is open practice and conversation. Some people keep experimenting with what they have just learned, others relax, chat and share impressions from the evening. No previous experience is needed, and ropes are provided.

Before you come, read the rope jam guidelines — they apply to every jam we run.

Rope Jam

A rope jam is open practice with other rope people. There is no curriculum and no teacher at the front of the room: you warm up, find a partner or bring one, and tie at your own speed. Jams run regularly and are open to all levels.

There are two kinds. Themed jams take a single subject — partials, hashira, speed rope dating — as a starting point for the evening; you are free to ignore the theme, but it gives the room a shape. Community rope jams have no theme at all and are hosted by members of the community rather than by the studio: the format is free and the evening becomes whatever the people who came make of it.

A jam is rope-focused: other kinds of play are not part of it. Nobody teaches or corrects you unless you ask, nobody steps into someone else's scene, and the organisers are in the room the whole time. The full list of expectations is on the rope jam guidelines page.

Study Group

Study Group — the format we used to announce as Rope Basic Lab — is a relaxed, participant-led learning evening. There is no fixed workshop plan: you bring a rope question, a technique you want to understand, or a problem from your recent practice, and we explore it together through discussion, demonstrations and shared practice.

Topics come from the room: fundamentals, safety and consent, rope handling, body positioning, adapting a tie, troubleshooting, or how to build a more thoughtful practice in general. Beginners are welcome, and more experienced participants use the evening to refine details and compare approaches with other people. Curiosity matters more than having the right answer. You can come alone or with a partner.

Peer Rope

Peer Rope is a small community learning format built around a Telegram chat and two in-person meetings each month. In the chat participants share questions, discoveries, videos, ties and practice notes; the topic of the next meeting comes out of those discussions.

Each meeting combines a discussion part and a practical part. Sometimes we analyse videos, sometimes we take apart a technical topic, sometimes we simply experiment together. There is no fixed curriculum and no pressure to participate in any particular way — you are welcome to practise, observe, ask questions, or just listen and find your own pace. You can join with a partner or come on your own.

Peer Rope is community-driven and keeps changing through feedback, suggestions and participant initiative. Where a Study Group is a single evening you can drop into, Peer Rope is an ongoing group that carries a conversation from one meeting to the next.

Shibari Workshop

A workshop is a focused class dedicated to specific rope techniques, concepts or approaches. It usually includes demonstration, explanation, guided practice, feedback and time for questions. Depending on the topic it may cover fundamentals, floorwork, suspensions, transitions, communication, aesthetics or other aspects of shibari.

Workshops are small — typically 6 to 12 people — and each one is marked beginner, intermediate or advanced on the schedule. Some are taught by our own hosts, others by teachers visiting Belgrade from other cities and countries. If you are unsure which level fits you, the FAQ has a short guide, or you can simply write to us.

Performance Night

An evening dedicated to live shibari performances, by local practitioners and by invited guests. It is not a workshop and not a jam — you come to watch, support the artists, and stay for the discussion, questions and exchange afterwards. No rope experience required, and nothing is expected of you beyond being in the audience.

Photo workshops and Shibari Sketches

Photo workshops are for the visual side of rope: light, composition, and the image that comes out of a session. They are aimed at photographers rather than riggers, though plenty of people do both.

Shibari Sketches, run together with WoonderStudio, is a drawing evening with live rope models. Quiet, unusual, and open to anyone who wants to look closely and put it on paper. Photos and drawings from past events end up in our gallery.

Social events

Tea, films, yoga, easy conversation. No rope, no experience, no pressure — the lowest-effort way to see the space and meet the people before you commit to anything. If you are curious about the studio but not ready to tie, start here.

Practice evenings

A peer-to-peer evening with no teachers and no formal instruction — everyone is equal before the practice, and the format is not limited to shibari. It works best if you arrive with a scenario, a specific request or a practice partner, though you are welcome to come alone.

If you have not been to the studio before, mention in the registration comments which of our regular guests can vouch for you. The rest of the expectations are on the practice evening guidelines page.

Private practice

You can also rent the studio and have the space to yourself — your own ideas, your own partner, your own pace. Write to us and we will find a slot.

Which one should you pick?

A rough map, if you would rather not read all of the above twice:

• Never held a rope: Beginner Rope Jam.
• Curious about the studio, not about tying yet: a social event or a Performance Night.
• Want to practise regularly with other people: a rope jam, themed or community.
• Want to be taught something specific: a workshop.
• Want to bring your own questions to a group: Study Group.
• Want to learn together with the same group over time: Peer Rope.
• Drawn to the image rather than the knot: a photo workshop or Shibari Sketches.

Still not sure? Find your event is six quick questions that suggest a format for you — a one-minute game, not a test. There is also a shorter reference of the recurring formats on the formats page, and the schedule shows what is actually coming up.

Whichever you choose, the general studio rules apply to every event, and the format-specific guidelines are linked from each event page. If something is still unclear, write to us before booking — that is a much better use of everyone's evening than turning up at the wrong format.