These are just some of the classes available to your community or event. Classes can also be tailored to your students' needs. Contact quartzlacon@gmail.com to discuss.
Classes that centre negotiation
Nuances of Negotiation and consent
Good negotiation and consent skills are vital in all kink settings. This class covers a general overview of negotiation and consent, and examines the unique challenges of negotiating for rope scenes. It also looks at the nuances of negotiating for rope scenes, from both sides of the ropes.
Negotiations as Play
This non-rope specific class explores how we might incorporate negotiations, both in the moment and long-term, in person and remote, into longer-term play relationships.
Including exercises on making negotiations feel like part of play without breaking/blurring consent, incorporating negotiations into longer-term play dynamics, and how to cope with consent violations.
Navigating challenging emotions in rope
This class hopes to open a conversation around difficult emotions, empowering us to be aware of, and navigate, challenging emotions that might come up during rope scenes. How can we choose what emotions to bring (or not bring) to a scene? How can we play with emotional intensity in a risk aware way? This class is for anyone who wants to foster an awareness of their experiences during rope scenes, and includes a mixture of practical exercises and facilitated conversation.
This class is an adaptation of one originally developed by Quartz with Gaelle.
Classes that centre identity
Rope for Neurodivergence
A very brief overview of autism, ADHD and other neurodivergences, our strengths and the inherently neuro-affirmative nature of rope. An exploration of the various ways in which rope is perfect for us neurodivergent folk, and how to draw on neurodivergent strengths to improve rope scenes, as well as negotiations. An exploration of rope as a grounding technique, how to stimulate all of the senses in rope and considerations around under/over whelming people in rope. How to negotiate and communicate boundaries and needs in a neuro-affirmative way, and ideas on using these skills outside of rope scenes too.
Rope for Gender Euphoria
A trans/non-binary perspective on ways of using rope to invoke euphoria (and ways to minimise dysphoria). This class will not include trans awareness education for the cis, and will be taught by trans and/or non-binary teachers.
This class is only open to TNBI people, and/or people who are regularly tying with TNBI people. At least one person per tying pair must be TNBI
Tying people with hypermobility spectrum disorder (HSD) / Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS)
Quartz has tied many people with HSD/hEDS, and themself has hEDS. This class will always be co-taught with a bottom who has HSD/hEDS.
This class explores the unique considerations which must be taken into account when tying with people who have HSD or hEDS, and some of their commonly co-occurring conditions. People with these conditions experience a wide variety of symptoms and levels of need, but there are some commonalities across people with all kinds of connective tissue disorders which should be understood by both rigger and rope bottom.
Key adjustments will be discussed and demonstrated, including:
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Differences in skin healing
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Altering body manipulation techniques
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How to prevent causing strain to problem areas
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How flexible is 'too flexible'
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Avoiding triggering circulatory issues
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Pain management during and after rope scenes
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Adaptations for HSD/hEDS riggers
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Using mobility and other tools in rope
Classes that explore specific headspaces
Intention and Attention
All rope scenes have the potential to achieve a new state of being, one of 'rope-space', when time and space take on new qualities and meaning. Intention and attention form an energetic thread which connects us to our partner.
This class will explore ways of creating, nurturing and sustaining this intention/attention thread throughout simple and more complex rope scenes.
Play, ritual, and rope
Philosopher Johan Huizinga describes play as an interlude to daily life rooted in ritual; ‘not serious’ but conducted with absolute seriousness, which has no moral function and is governed by its own rules. Anthropologist Don Handelman writes that both play and ritual allow participants to forget their social selves, perceiving each other as full human beings, thus liberating ourselves from the rules and stresses of daily life.
In rope, we can combine ritual and play to create what Quartz defines as ‘rope-space’, in which the childlike curiosity of play and the sacred actions of ritual are combined with Rogers’ (1961) unconditional positive regard, and Barkas’ (2017) Interview metaphor.
Shame, Objectification and Humiliation
Playing with intense headspaces, such as those brought up by shame, objectification and humiliation, can totally transform your rope relationship. The vulnerability inherent, both for bottoms and tops, in exploring these headspaces, can be beautiful and exciting, however, when playing in this way, we need an understanding of what we are doing and why, so that we can avoid psychological injury.
This class includes various exercises designed to provoke these headspaces, and discussions about why we like to explore them. We'll also talk about ways to keep yourself and your partner safe, physically and emotionally, when playing in this way.
Classes that centre non-rope techniques
Rope for pain play
Rope is a great vehicle for pain play, and both the positions we tie people into, and the way we apply ropes can cause varying degrees of pain. In this class, both methods are explored as you are guided through the process of causing pain using the principle of mindful intention.
Pressure points and activation points are also introduced, both as methods for applying pain, and for body manipulation. Moving the body using pressure points allows you to move your partner freely, in whatever way you wish, without using strength. This is especially useful when tying someone bigger than yourself, but should be used irrespectively, in order to avoid injuries.
Biomechanics for rope
A class for anyone who wants to improve their ability to move and be moved in rope, without needing to rely on force, strength or obedience. Using a mixture of pressure points, leverage and drawing on principles from physics and martial arts to make moving and being moved easy and effortless. Including insights on how to take care of your body for both rigger and bottom, and techniques both for floor and suspension rope scenes.
Hypnotic Rope
This class, which doesn't teach hypnosis techniques, draws influence from hypno-kink to work towards utilising elements of hypnotic energy within rope scenes.
Including explorations of creating a trance-like state of heightened focus and awareness within a rope scene, using the concept of 'fascination' from hypno-kink to direct and retain your partners' fascination within rope scenes, and other considerations for making rope scenes take on a 'hypnotic' quality.
Sensory Deprivation in rope
Sensory deprivation provides an entryway into deeply intense headspaces, and can be used to evoke a variety of reactions, from comfort and meditation to fear and depersonalisation.
This class explores methods for reducing/withholding access to different senses during rope scenes, and the various equipment (or lack of) that one might use to create this deprivation. It also discusses trauma-informed ways of playing with this intense headspace, and how to use sensory deprivation in an intentional way.
We will look at methods inspired by Japanese rope bondage, at methods inspired by Pilar and 'maximalism', adding hoods and other larger items into rope scenes, and how to tie the head and face to achieve your aims.
Classes that centre patterns and suspension
Intro to Partial Suspension
Taking you from floor-work to playing in the air, with (at least) one foot on the ground. This will usually be delivered as an all day or intensive weekend class, except where all participants already have knowledge of two suspendible harnesses (one chest).
Partials as a complete scene
Partials are often thought of as transitions to suspension, however, many complete and satisfying rope scenes can be created using partial suspension
In this class, we will explore a variety of different exercises which use partials to build a complete rope scene. This will include instruction on partial uplines and freestyle partial tying techniques
Intro to Suspension
It's time to fly! Covering the principles of how to support another person's bodyweight in the air using only ropes. Including upline principles and management, lock-offs for different types of hardpoints, the difference between body awareness and communication for bottoms on the ground vs in the air and safety and risk considerations.
Quartz’s full-body lacing tie
This class covers Quartz’s full-body lacing tie, which is an arms-free harness which can be adapted to a variety of arm positions and suspended from multiple angles. This class is aimed at people with prior suspension experience, good understanding of tension and good communication skills and body awareness.
Building freestyle harnesses
The ability to build robust freestyle harnesses in rope not only enables more playful rope scenes, it also gives riggers a better understanding of how and why harnesses are constructed and how they will behave in the air. Freestyle harness building at its best centres the person in the ropes, both emotionally and physically, as harnesses are tailored to the bottom’s body and needs, and can be built during dynamic floor-play scenes which can fluidly and naturally transition to suspension.
In this class, participants will build a freestyle full body rope harness, and will be guided to an understanding of the reasoning behind construction choices. Participants will be given a chance to suspend this harness and be equipped with the skills to build freestyle full body harnesses on their own.
Tying in 3D: Using multiple suspension points
When tying with multiple suspension points, whether within a frame, bamboo, or other set-up, there are a range of challenges and possibilities which are encountered. Playing with different angled uplines allows the body to be stretched and contorted in interesting and unique ways. In this class, you will be guided through how, why and when to use differently angled uplines and 3D space in suspension. Requires multiple suspension experiences from rigger and bottom.