Andrea Ropes is an internationally active Shibari performer and educator, the first certified Yagami Ryu Shoden instructor in Italy, and one of the founders and organizers of Kinkon Fest.
Born in Modena, Italy, he began his journey with rope in 2006, after coming across a photograph that immediately fascinated him.
From that moment, he embarked on a path of study and research, exploring the techniques, principles, and different styles of Shibari. Initially self-taught, over the years he continued his education by studying with several influential teachers in the discipline, including Yagami Ren, Kanna Nawashi, Haruki Yukimura, Hajime Kinoko, Bob Ropemarks, Otonawa, Bingo Shigonawa, and others.
At the beginning of 2015, after nine years of experience, he decided to pursue Shibari professionally, travelling throughout Italy and Europe and bringing his work as an educator and performer to audiences across the continent.
His performance style is characterized by dynamic movement, artistic expression, and technical precision. As an educator, he is known for his ability to adapt to the individual needs of his students and for his meticulous attention to technique, with particular focus on tension management.
A central part of his practice is his ongoing study and research into communication through rope, a principle he considers fundamental to Shibari. Technique thus becomes a tool for listening, connection, and expression, within a constant exploration of the balance between precision, sensitivity, and communication.
In recent years, his studies have led him to deepen his exploration of the Yagami Ryu style, ultimately achieving Shoden certification and becoming the first certified Yagami Ryu instructor in Italy.
Alongside his work as a performer and educator, Andrea is actively involved in the growth and development of the Shibari community and kink culture. He is one of the founders and organizers of Kinkon Fest, an international event dedicated to Shibari and kink culture, created to provide a space for practitioners, teachers, performers, and enthusiasts to meet, learn, share, and exchange ideas.
Today, he continues to develop his practice through training, teaching, research, and engagement with the international community, keeping at the heart of his work the relationship between technique, expression, and communication through rope.
List of the main events he has attended:
2023
16 September – Show @ Manifest fetish party, Copenhagen (DK)
13-16 July – Presenter @ Rope linked IV, Rotterdam (N)
2-4 June – Workshop & show @ Kinbaku Camp, (DK)
22-23 April – Workshop @ Barcelona (S)
2022
10-11 December – Workshop & Show @ Influx, Bucarest (RO)
29/30 October – workshop & show @ Ropejam, Billund (DEN)
7-9 October – workshop & Show @ Kinkferansen, Oslo (N)
17 June – Show @ Rope spirit, Prague (CZ)
2021
11th-12th December – Workshop & Show in Toulouse (F)
2020
18th-19th July – Workshop @ Yoroi-dojo in Bruxells (B)
1st-2nd February – Workshop & Show in Kristiansand (Norway)
2019
4th – 6th October – Workshop & Show @ Prague shibari fest. – Prague (CZ)
5th – 11th August – Workshop @ Shibari camp – (SWE)
27th – 28th July – Show & Workshop, Amiens (F)
14th June – Show @ Rope Spirit. Prague (CZ)
24th – 26th May – Show and Workshop @ Boundcon, Munich (D)
5th – 7th April – Workshop and Show @ Kinbaku lounge, Copenhagen (DK)
22th – 24th Mars – Workshop and Show – Toulouse (F)
2nd February – Shibari Show night @ AKA, Roma (I)
2018
2nd – 4th November – Boundcon meet Feringa – Munich (D)
20th – 23rd September – Show (video – pics) and Workshops @ Rome Bondage Week – Roma (I)
25th – 27th May – Show and Workshop @ Boundcon, Munich (D)
6th – 8th April – Workshop and Show @ Kinbaku lounge, Copenhagen (DK)
17th – 18th Mars – Workshop and Show, Amiens (F)
10th – 11th Mars – Workshop, Strasburg (F)
10th February – Workshop and Show, Montpellier (F)
3rd – 4th February – Workshop and Show, Lyon (F)
2017
30th December – Show @ Place des cordes – Paris (F)
18th – 19th November – Show and workshop @ Madrid Shibari – Madrid (S)
11th – 12th November – Show and workshop @ FaustoBCN – Barcelona (S)
3rd – 5th November – Boundcon meet Feringa – Munich (D)
13th – 17th September – Show and workshop @ Rome Bondage Week – Rome (I)
24th – 26th July – Show and workshops @ Metaldays – Tolmin (SLO)
17th June – Show @ Rope spirit with Kameko – Prague (CZ)
10th June – Show @ Coven – Manerba del Garda (I)
27th May – Show @ Boundcon with Clementine Poulain, Munich – D
17th May – Show @ Shibari on stage, Milano (I)
21st – 23rd Apr. – Show & Workshop @ Ellipsis, Rotterdam – N
17th Feb. – Show @ Bound with Kitty Rea, London – UK
2016
16th Dec. – Show @ Decadence, Bologna – I
11th Dec. – Show @ Conventicola degli ultramoderni, Rome – I
20th Nov. – Workshop @ CKC, Milan – I
5th Nov. – Show @ Fetique boutique, Ljubjana – SLO
23rd Oct. – Workshop @ Lyon shibari, Lyon – F
21st Oct. – Shot @ La Meduze, Lyon – F
15th Oct. – Workshop and show @ Claire obscure, Cap d’Agde – F
8th – 9th Oct. – Workshop @ Le circle de Janise, Strasbourg – F
1st – 2nd Oct. – Workshops @la Maison des Soupirs, Bordeaux – F
24th Sept. – Workshop and show @ Edo association – Nantes – F
12th – 18th Sept. – Workshops and show @ Eurix – Berlin – D
29th – 31st July – Show and Workshops, Kharkiv – Ukraine
22nd – 24th July – Show and Workshops, Kiev – Ukraine
1st July – Show at Shibari Show Party with Clementine Poulain, Rome
17th-19th June – Show and Workshop with Clementine Poulain, Prague – Czech Republic
4th June – Performance “Mondo invertito” with Carlo A. Motta, Lucca (review)
14th-15th May – Workshop in Palermo
7th-8th May – Workshop in Trento
22nd-24th April – Show and Workshop @ Moskow knot with Clementine Poulain, Moskow – Rus
16th-17th April – Show and Workshop @ Q with Clementine Poulain, Rome
27th March – Show @Decadence Easter party with Clementine Poulain, Berlin – D
26th March – Show @Imaginarium party with Bliss Theadora, London – UK
11th March – Show @Torture Garden with Bliss Theadora, London – UK
4th March – Show @Bound with Bliss Theadora, London – UK
20th-21st February – Workshop @ Hikari Kesho studio, Padova – Italy
30th-31st January – Show & Workshop @ Spazio Khymeia, Milan – Italy
17th January – Show @ Q with Silvia Fera, Rome
2015
27th-29th November – Show @kinbaku night and Workshop @MBDstudio, Rome
21st-22nd November – Workshop @la Maison des Soupirs, Bordeaux – F
14th November – Show & Workshop @ Bestiarum party, Zagreb – CRO
7th November – Show @ Klub Circus. Ljubjana – SLO
31st October – Show @Predel club, Moskow – RUS
19th September – Show @ AKA rope school, Rome
August – Rope summer school @ Anatomie studio, London – UK
25th July – Blues and shibari with Liricaa Lamat @Club Rosas5, Barcelona – S
8th May – Music video – Cradle of Filth, Right Wing of the Garden Triptych
25th – 26th April – Workshop and Show, Bordeaux – F
18th April – Show @moskowknot with Sasha Ishemia, Moskow – RUS
31st January – Show @Kinbaku untied with Gestalta, Barcelona – S
16th January – Show @Bound with Gestalta, London – UK
2014
November – Show @Tokyo Underground with Gestalta, Geneva
October – Nawashi Kanna event in tea house, Ikegami Honmon-ji, Tokyo
February – Show @Bound with Gorgone, London
2013
October – Show @London Festival of the Art of Japanese Rope Bondage with Gorgone, London
September – Workshop & show @Bal des supplices, Lyon
27th April – Show @Lausanne shibari night with Gorgone, Lausanne
19th April – Show @Bound with Maya Homerton, London
2012
October – Show @London Festival of the Art of Japanese Rope Bondage with Nina Russ, London
October – Show @Bound with Valentina, London
September – Workshop & show @Bal des supplices, Lyon
2011
16th October – Show @LegArti, Rome
2010
October – Show @Decadence with Kumy Monster, Bologna