An interview with Tatiana (rigger) and Isa (rope partner)
When did you start rigging and how did you get to know each other?
Tatiana: I officially started rigging about six years ago. Before that, it was something I’d seen at Kit Kat club in Berlin and was trying to learn through YouTube videos. I quickly became more and more interested and realised it wouldn’t be safe to continue like that, so I found teachers from whom I could learn it the correct way. I attended workshops with a number of different international teachers and met Isa two years after that through someone else. We were supposed to do a one-off tying session, but as with so many other things, life had other plans.
Before you were a performer at Doel Festival, you were a visitor. How did you get to know the festival and what attracted you to it?
Isa: We actually knew about its existence, but it was Tatiana’s physiotherapist who convinced her, and then us, to go. He said it was a very unique festival and that it would be the last year it could happen, so he created an urgency to go in 2024. We’re not mad he did because it was an amazing festival. It’s very different from other festivals and my favourite stage is the street stage (Pastorij). So we were both very happy when we found out he was wrong when you announced Doel Festival was happening again in 2025. We really wanted to tie in that place and to be able tie there during the festival was really, very special.
Isa had already caught the eye of one of our photographers, Fany Bardin. And then last year as well, Fany was able to shoot you during your performances.
What was it like, to perform at a music festival for the first time? Is it different from performing in an intimate circle?
Tatiana: We’ve done many performances before, but for kinky audiences and smaller crowds. The biggest crowd we had before Doel was 300 people. This was really worlds apart. First of all, we tied both times in broad daylight. So people clearly saw everything in every detail, which is different from a dark club. Secondly, it was a lot of people’s first time seeing such a performance and more people than we initially anticipated came to talk to us, to ask us questions while we were tying. We’ve experienced this before, so I had already briefed our friends that they should keep people at a distance, but I really underestimated the amount of spectators. Two people weren’t enough to keep us in a bubble during the entire session. But it still felt amazing.
Isa: We almost had a serious situation while we tied at the totems, because a guy climbed another totem pole and it was not so steady and collapsed really close to ours. Right away, our friends came, concerned, telling us to stop tying on the structure because it was unsafe. But we had come to Doel the day before to scope out some places to tie and we had specifically chosen that totem because we knew this one was safe and the other one was unstable. Even though, Tatiana was so shocked by what happened that she was ready to abandon the tie.
Tatiana: Isa was super clear-headed and confident. She said let’s keep going, so we did. And we’re very glad she did because that was our favourite tie. The techno music from the street stage, the crowd, the totems, the whole vibe was enthralling.
Where is your shibari journey taking you next?
Both: It’s been such a wild ride, we’re very grateful to be able to combine our love for ropes and music. But hopefully, it will take us back to Doel Festival.
We love it. Thank you both!
