Event: Balkan Bound II, Fall 2025, Belgrade
Activities: Workshops, talks and a closing performance with Keira

Balkan Bound is a festival dedicated to rope, performance, connection and community. This edition was my first time in Serbia and it was a great experience from start to finish. It brings together people from all over Europe to share their skills and their way of doing kinbaku. It felt like stepping into a new environment with a lot of curiosity.

For this edition I asked Keira to join me as my model. We were generously hosted by the organizer who welcomed us into a beautiful apartment with the most adorable, cuddly, and vocal cats. I am not ashamed to say that the cats may have been the highlight of the entire trip.

Playful and Dirty Kinbaku

On our first day we taught our workshop Playful and Dirty Kinbaku. The class is split in two parts and participants can choose to attend part one, part two, or both. Both sessions were fully sold out.

It was great to see people let go of pattern tying and step into something more personal. The energy in the room shifted from technical focus to curiosity and contact. People played, explored, and got dirty in the best possible way.

Exploring Belgrade

The first official day of the festival was a free day for us. We used it to explore Belgrade. The city is beautiful, full of history, and the people are friendly everywhere you go. Keira and I both agreed we want to return, either for another Balkan Bound edition or simply as tourists.

In the evening we went to the festival venue to watch the performances. The location was impressive and the shows gave a strong sense of the diversity of the different performers.

Kinbaku Talks

The second day of the festival was packed. We had two activities and decided to fill those hours with a kinbaku talk. This is an interactive format where I explain my approach to kinbaku and RopeMarks in general. It is not a lecture. The audience participates, asks questions, challenges ideas, and shares their own views. I was glad to see how popular this format turned out to be.

Closing performance

Our final task at Balkan Bound was to close the event with a performance. We were the last act of the evening, which always makes me a bit nervous. There is a certain pressure that comes with ending a show.

Still, Keira and I delivered a performance I am proud of. The room fell quiet and we received a thunderous applause when we finished. Balkan Bound, thank you for that moment. It meant a lot.

Final thoughts

Balkan Bound was an experience. We loved being part of it. The people, the city, the energy, and the community made it special. It is an event I can recommend without hesitation.

Serbia treated us well and we will be back.

 

Balkan Bound | Keira | RopeMarks

 

Edit 1: First set of images added, more will follow.