Anna Noctuelle
Anna Noctuelle is a highly experienced and versatile Shibari practitioner with over 15 years of experience. Her journey with Shibari began as a personal discovery and has since evolved into a multifaceted practice encompassing teaching, modelling and performing.Her dedication to sharing her passion for Shibari has taken her to various rope communities across Europe teaching workshops and captivating audiences with performances since 2016.
Anna’s artistic journey has been deeply influenced by her diverse background. With a foundation in classical dance, she brings grace, elegance, and a keen sense of body awareness to her Shibari practice. Her exploration of Buddhism and meditation, as well as her commitment to yoga, have shaped her aesthetic and philosophical approach to Shibari, lending it a spiritual depth and tranquility. And being a linguist in her other life she’s constantly exploring the communicative aspects of Shibari.Anna Noctuelle’s blend of skills, knowledge, and experiences make her an exceptional practitioner and educator of Shibari who understands what it means create safe and inclusive learning environments which reward inquiry, curiosity, courage, experimentation and playfulness.
Please email mail@anna-noctuelle.com for more info, availability and rates.
Goddessinrope
Goddessinrope (she/her) started her rope journey in 2016 when she began exploring her kinky side with the vague notion that restraint could be fun. She initially discovered Shibari privately then visited the studio and the rest is history! While teaching, GoddessInRope focuses on techniques and technical details that will help to bring enjoyment to the experience of rope, for both the rigger and the model. With her experience of both sides of the rope and many years of co-teaching she is able to customise her content to those wishing to learn. She has taught for many years at the beginner’s jams and the in house courses and has even taught internationally, most recently with Petite Pretzel in Sweden.
Please email goddessinrope@gmail.com for more info, availability and rates.
Kaoru Neve
Kaoru Neve (she/her) has been practising shibari since 2016 on a journey of self-discovery and connection. What started as a way to open up to her kinky side, later gave her a language to express technique, feelings, creativity, and intimacy. For her, the charm of rope is its potential to open to a multitude of experiences: the intimate moment between two or more people; the aesthetic expression of a photo; the research of elegant techniques; the highlight of the natural beauty of bodies; the meditative moment of subspace; the immersive experience of a performer; the connection of a community; the silly laughter between friends; the exploration of boundaries; the discovery of a new body; the personal journey of self-discovery, and beyond. This is what she is passionate about in her teachings: not a dogmatic perspective, but an opening of possibilities. She cares about the personal ‘why’, and she uses her skills in education and psychology to support everyone. She gives particular care to the learning approach of the student and how she can support the individual style and growth, allowing it to blossom with awareness. Kaoru brings to rope an aesthetic sense based on the principle of “form follows function”. Her style is very curiosity driven: the deconstruction and exploration of techniques is a way to lay a safe foundation that allows her to try more things and find different paths to keep her journey going. Ultimately, she has found in rope a powerful way to connect to others — individuals and community — and she wants to spread that joy.
Mel Kitenga
Mel (she/ her) is a neurodiverse, queer, rope customisation professional from the Middle East, laying down roots in East London. She uses her extensive insight and experience to teach numerous classes and workshops (both in house and externally), teach privately and has professionally rigged for a variety of productions – music videos, films, exhibitions, fashion shows – in some amazing locations (including The Tate Modern!)
She enjoys teaching from the ground up. More specifically; teaching the basic building blocks of ropes and going from there. With a keen eye for detail and building good habits, she is most confident in teaching beginners and intermediates. She finds joy in introducing people to rope, working with them to discover their learning style and to teach them in the best way possible for them as individuals. It’s a privilege to be a frame of reference for someone beginning their journey into rope bondage.
Mel really enjoys teaching fellow nerodiverse people, making it her goal to find what makes someone connect to the practice so that they go away wanting to do it again. Her own neurodiversity gives her a lot of patience and understanding; she tends to be warm and encouraging and her enthusiasm about rope usually rubs off on her students.
Email theaccidentalrigger@gmail.com for more info, availability and rates.
Mouse
Mouse (she/ her/ it) has a passion for teaching beginners and improvers the more fluid, less technical side of rope. Basing her teaching in body manipulation, movement and connection, she is leaning into her role as a rope educator, and enjoys creating safe learning spaces that help others to access connections and feelings through rope. Mouse is a staunch advocate for body and racial diversity in the rope and kink scenes, and will die on the Rope-is-for-Everyone hill. At the beginning of 2023 she began working with Serotonin to collaborate on monthly rope jam and class open only to those from Black and Caribbean diaspora and other people of colour.
Email mouseinrope@gmail.com for more info, availability and rates.
Petite Pretzel
Petite Pretzel (she/ her) is a rope switch from New York. She has taught shibari at Anatomie Studio London since 2019, as well as abroad for Athens Shibari in Greece, Eurix (European Rope Exchange) in Germany and Shibari Camp in Sweden. She has performed live for Edinburgh Rope Showcase, Drawn to Rope London, Rabbithole Club, Athens Shibari and Fox Badge. Her commercial rigging includes music videos, art gallery installations, fashion photography and full-length film. She lives in Bethnal Green with her cat, who loves ropes just as much as she does.
Music video work:
* Charli XCX and Christine + the Queens, “Gone” (2019): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chSZCtLrgz8
* Cody Frost, “Don’t Worry Your Secret’s Safe With Me” (2022): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yDhyjMDsvvQ
Fashion photography:
* Emilian Iftimie (photographer), Alina Elena Grosu (designer). “The Gaze” (2021): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chSZCtLrgz8
Feature film work:
* Andy Edwards (Director), “Graphic Designs” (2022). https://www.imdb.com/title/tt13452544/
Art gallery installation:
* Antonio Pichillá (sculptor), “The Immortal” (July 2022). https://elizabethxibauer.com/exhibition-the-immortal/
Email Uglyducklingrope@gmail.com for more info.
Rory Ropes
Rory’s (he/him) passion for Shibari flared when he visited the studio in 2020. With a switchy background, Rory enjoys playful & dynamic rope and is a fan of incorporating body manipulation by the rigger alongside rope. Whether self-tying, double tying or labbing inventive new tie combinations, Rory likes to make sure his rope puts the model’s well-being and needs first. He believes that rope can be for every body and likes to adjust, learn and develop ties that enable those with injuries and disabilities to fully experience shibari. He can often be found working on the technical aspects of a tie/rope sequence in order to constantly develop his skills.
Email roryropes@gmail.com for more information and rates
Zuberi
Drawing on a background including, martial arts, tantra and shiatsu, Zuberi, (he/him), brings some element of all of these disciplines to his rope practice. Since his introduction to shibari/kinbaku in 2014, he has experienced many styles, from the traditional system of Naka Akira to the more modern style of Fred Hatt, and is always keen to study and learn new systems and pass on this knowledge in his teachings.
As Black and British from an African descent, Zuberi supports and encourages sex-positive and body-positive kink in the BAME community.
Instagram – Zuberirope
Email zuberirope@gmail.com for more information and rates
Other faces you might see in the studio
The following co-teach beginners classes and courses, but don’t offer private tuition.
Amy
Amy (they/them) is a queer Artist and cowboy based in SE London. They have a love for the filthy power play, whether it be people or practises. They have been practising rope for many years but really engaged more with the scene in early 2021 when they started working at Anatomie. A rope top, they find inspiration in the ways rope can be sexy, silly and saccharine. As well as rope they can be found running Aimless Gallery; a slow fashion latex brand focusing on bright colourful latex for queer people and the kink community as a whole. Aimless Gallery donates all profits to helping people gain access to gender affirming surgery and Mermaids, who support gender diverse children.
Eleni
Eleni (they/ she) has been part of the Anatomie team since 2021. An ex primary school teacher, they always said they wouldn’t quit teaching when they quit teaching. And here they are: finding their feet teaching shibari and sex ed to adults, as opposed to teaching maths to 11-year-olds. Eleni is mostly a rope bottom. They value rope for its ability to get them out of their head and into their body, as well as the intimacy and connection it fosters. Eleni (not their real name) is not Greek – they are half English and half Indian – and have type 1 diabetes. Tying with a chronic condition can be scary, so they try to bring this awareness to their teaching spaces. They are also one of the least flexible human in existence, so are a real-life example that rope needs to fit a body rather than a body needing to fit rope. Outside of their work at Anatomie, Eleni is currently training to be a Clinical Sexologist and is one half of Klink. Eleni has been exploring the kinkier side of life for almost a decade, and most often describes themselves as a brat… but is also realising that labels only really suit them for a while, and then they outgrow them.
Em.Pad
Em.Pad (they/ them) is a queer, gender-fluid human exploring and experiencing kink and alternative relationship styles for a few years now. Originally a bike courier, they started working at Anatomie around October 2021 with the store team and are also a HouseCat. They love to treat rope and develop connections with other humans through shibari.