Notes from Devil Mask Studio
I went to Devil Mask Studio in Los Angeles to work with Marta and Federico from Yugen studio in Milan. They held an intensive on Semenawa. I was completely amazed at the level of detail they bring to their workshops. Top notch. It was a good chance to practice some of my Italian as well. I wanted to include a few notes from what I learned as a way to remember the technical and philosophical learnings.
Models don’t remember rope. They remember body handling. Slowly increase the stress, frog in a pot. Time is critical, wait for the rope to take effect.
La corda de la culpa= Semenawa= blaming rope. The feelings must come to the surface, like squid fishing, you cast your light into the bottom’s darkness.
Tie from sitting, more to hear in the body. Hands behind is more visceral and vulnerable than hands in front. The care in how you finish your rope is proportionate to the care you have for your model.
In TK: the first rope captures, the second rope reassures. Kannuki means bolt. You bolt your harness into place.
We need special effects. The difference between bombs and fireworks is beauty. The aesthetic is the fetish. The reaction of the body is the aesthetic.
Triggering emotions isn’t bad, when we do it consciously.
Don’t pull the rope, squeeze out the tension like toothpaste from a tube.
The shape of the rib cage determines kannuki tension. Round ribs=tighter kannuki. Prominent ribs with sharp angles= less tension on second wraps.
The stem of every harness must be properly engaged, with equal pressure. Everything must move as one.
Before you pull on your suspension upline, make sure the hanger is flush .
Muscles pushing into rope are as important as gravity in suspension.
For bottoms: explore the ropes, don’t just brace yourself. Exploration is acceptance. Micro adjustments excite your rigger. Checking in your wrists pumps blood into wrists, making them swell. If you fight the ropes, they fight back, and win. Do half breaths, don’t panic. shallow breath puts you into parasympathetic state if done slowly.