Saara Rei

Saara Rei is a German rope bottom.

Era: 2010s

ROPE BOTTOM · PERFORMANCE ARTIST · WORKSHOP FACILITATOR

Saara Rei is a multidisciplinary performance artist, Kinbaku practitioner, and workshop facilitator with a professional background in music, dance, education, and public speaking. Performing since early childhood as a dancer and classical musician, Saara has always viewed the stage as a space for honest collaboration between performers and audience. Her artistic voice blends the surreal, the provocative, and the emotionally raw, often exploring the absurd and the dissonant to evoke deep reflection. Since 2014, Saara has been immersed in Japanese-inspired rope bondage as a highly experienced rope bottom. For her, rope is a form of embodied truth - an intimate exchange where vulnerability cannot hide. As an experienced rope bottom, she has collaborated with some of the most respected riggers in the international Kinbaku community, shaping her approach to both performance and teaching. She is a co-founder of Embodied in Rope, an in-depth educational project and curriculum designed specifically for rope bottoms. Alongside fellow co-founders Anna Noctuelle and Natasha Nawataneko, they also host the podcast Model Behaviour together, offering nuanced conversations about rope from the model’s perspective, backed by over 40 years of combined experience in the scene. With a strong grounding in power dynamics, sadomasochism, and emotional exploration, Saara’s work embraces hierarchy, intensity, and the healing potential of intentional suffering. Her workshops invite participants to engage with pain, fear, shame, and vulnerability as pathways to presence and transformation. Through this lens, she teaches how suffering - when chosen and understood - can be a profound teacher, guiding us into the immediacy of the present moment. Holding a Ph.D. in mathematics, Saara blends academic rigor with embodied wisdom. Her teaching style is grounded, playful, and infused with humor, creating a space that is both light and deep - welcoming exploration, complexity, and growth. She considers herself a student of Felix Ruckert and the Schwelle7 community. And with that, she hopes to carry on the spirit of space she was once part of, sharing the lessons she has learned and the perspectives she has gained during her time spent there.

Influences (mutual or directional): Felix Ruckert.

Influenced by: schwelle7.

Collaborators: Lahtnor, Carnivore, Felix Ruckert, Anna Noctuelle, A-Nicolas, Alexander MA, Federico Kirigami, Gestalta, Tamandua, ButterflyBondage, Andy Buru, Kristina Marlen, Natasha NawaTaNeko, Marta Tenshiko, Pilar LaOtra, Caritia, Sawa, Margout Darko, WisDomme, Fittglitter.

Associated venues, magazines, films and performances: EURIX 2010s, Anatomie Studio, Yugen Studio, EURIX 2020s, Zwielicht Studio, Danish Shibari Festival, Shibari Canarias, AthenShibari, Kinbaku Lounge Copenhagen, BalkanBound, Model Behaviour, Embodied in Rope.