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Winnipeg Shibari —Eckhardt-Gramatté

Wow, was this show a spectacle! It was more like watching a stunt show than anything else. Don’t go in expecting any plot or story, it’s a demonstration and nothing more.

The rope was worked skillfully and several people were suspended in what looked like really painful positions. The red marks all over the artists bodies were even more proof that these folks don’t mess around.

The MC was very friendly and available to answer any audience questions throughout the show. He even added some humour by dangling scissors to the tied up who clearly could never grab them. While the tricks were cool, the opening act did take quite a long time to set up and I became antsy waiting (which maybe was the point).

The MC also needed a few less “ums” and maybe some more practice with public speaking. This show is definitely not for the squeamish and does feature nudity. It was also very busy and I didn’t quite know where to focus my attention and probably missed a lot.

That said I loved how much consent and trust the artists had in one another. I could feel the love that was between each partnering. I also liked that there were all sorts of combinations of artists. I will go see it again as I’m interested to see if any other positions are tried and I just thought it was plain cool.

Kaitlyn Kriss