Saara Rei is a workshop facilitator and performance artist with a background in music, dance, education, and public speaking. Saara’s work generally centers around the exploration of suffering, both physical and emotional. Through their kink practice, Saara has come to understand that suffering comes from the comparison of what has been or could be to the present moment. And with that, Saara enjoys teaching about how to use suffering as a path to presence and enjoyment in life. Having a Ph.D. in mathematics, Saara’s academic experience adds an intellectual flair to complement their performative approach to bodywork. Playfulness and humor make up a big chunk of Saara’s personality and approach to life, giving their workshops a very exploitative and light atmosphere, even while approaching some of the heaviest of topics.
Experience
TOGETHERNESS
Humans are seen as social creatures. We for communities, tribes, collectives, cooperatives, Vereine, and whatever other words we can possibly think of to mark our standing as “together”. The groups we form draw boundaries of who is “us” and who is “them”, develop cultural norms that determine who behaves acceptably or not, and shape us into who we are. Our appearance, ethics, and behaviour are all determined by the groups we belong to. And we cannot deny that our feeling of Geborgenheit is deeply affected by how well integrated we feel in the groups we want to belong to, and our social standing within those groups. In fact, we can even claim that Geborgenheit is exactly what a group uses to regulate the behaviour the members of a group; if somebody in a group is misbehaving relative to the culture of the group then they may be shamed and made to feel insecure about their position. Their social standing may be threatens along with their very membership! And on the flipside, if somebody is behaving well, then they are likely to be affirmed by the group, perhaps rewarded and their sense of security reinforced. Perhaps they are even allowed to shape the culture of the group as a leader, and given power.
In this workshop, we will explore what it means to form a group and develop a culture within that group. We will do this by literally creative groups with different structures, ethics, and behaviour within a framework provided. Within the groups we form, we will explore what it means to feel Geborgenheit, and to have that feeling taken away. We will also explore what it is like to interact with other groups and cultures and struggles of integrating together, as well as the reward.
English (UK) 
Deutsch