From watching Riverdance in her childhood home in Dresden, to her studio in Bantry, Rebekka Simon speaks to Eimear O’Dwyer about why she loves dancing.
FOR studio owner, dancer, choreographer and dance teacher Rebekka Simon, dance has always meant freedom.
‘You dive into a different world,’ she says. ‘You can dance any time. If you’re sad, if you’re happy, you can do it on your own, you can do it with friends or at a gig or festival. No one could ever stop you from dancing. So that gives you that kind of freedom to express yourself or to feel into your emotions.’
Rebekka created Per.form dance studio in Bantry in 2023 – a space for people to dance and express themselves through performing arts.
This curiosity about dance came to Rebekka from a young age.
Growing up in Dresden in Germany she always remembers expressing herself through dance.
Rebekka Simon: We find our own way to express ourselves. It lies in everyone whether its dance or writing or painting. (Photo: Joe Chapman)
‘My parents had a record player, and we weren’t really allowed to move because if you jumped around with the vibration the needle would just hop so that was the first time I realised that I needed to move when the music was playing.’
Ironically, one of her first fascinations for the art came from Riverdance: ‘My parents saw a show of Riverdance in my hometown and they came back with that video, and I was just obsessed with the way they were dancing.’
Her parents were very supportive and she had the opportunity to go to a professional dance school in Dresden from the age of nine.
Rebekka honed her craft and worked as a dancer in Germany for seven years thereafter, in various theatrical musicals and dance shows including Fame and Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Rebekka’s studio in Bantry has been open since 2023. (Photo: Joe Chapman)
In 2015, Rebekka was drawn to Irish soil for the first time, to take a break and work on her English.
During her year as an au pair in West Cork she found an appreciation for the land, the people and the relaxed culture.
After her year of travel Rebekka went back to Germany to work, and then she went on to New Zealand to do some travelling. It was during this time that Rebekka began to feel homesick, but she found that it wasn’t Germany she longed for.
‘I was a little bit homesick, but not for Germany, for Ireland,’ she said.
Rebekka returned in 2018, this time to Cork city where she furthered her studies of dance and taught classes, but in 2022 Rebekka found herself returning to West Cork where she taught classes in different venues and held onto a dream of opening her own space for performing arts.
‘It’s funny because I always had that dream or idea to have my own little studio in West Cork. I was teaching in different venues…and I often felt like that’s not fair on the kids either to not have a proper space to dance. I thought if I can find a little space somewhere to make it into a little studio that would be great.’
When Rebekka found a studio space on Marino Street in Bantry in 2023, she felt that maybe she was a little bit naïve to believe it could work out. But her determination to follow her passion emboldened her.
‘Sometimes if I have that feeling I just want to try something I go for it. So there’s not much planning, thinking, calculation about “is it worth it?” No, I just go for it.’
Rebekka teaches many forms of dance including jazz, ballet and contemporary. And she also rents out the space for other performing arts and fitness classes.
Community integration is very important to Rebekka. She felt the ‘ripple effect’ of support when she came back to the area and she now teaches dance in schools and summer camps. She creates routines for events such as culture night, and is currently creating a dance and music routine alongside Curious Keys and Core Creative in Bantry for St Patrick’s Day. ‘I love it here so much and I want to give something to the community.’
But getting things off the ground can be tricky in smaller places too, she says. ‘I’m in the second year now and I still try to figure things out really. I know times are hard, shops are closing down. But it feels like we need a little bit more of a connecting point.’
‘It’s still challenging because people don’t want to put any, I don’t know time I guess or even money into creative things.’
It can be difficult from a business point of view, she says, but she is still driven by her love of a challenge and her belief that everybody has a gift to express.
‘We find our own way to express ourselves. It lies in everyone whether its dance or writing or painting…’
‘I think everyone has it in themselves and if you supress that for yourself it’s already sad, but I think if you can share it with other people, it’s a gift. And everyone is gifted.’
Despite the challenges Rebekka retains her ambition for future pursuits, and even dreams of some day creating a musical in West Cork. Dance to Rebekka is freedom, and she wants to share that freedom with everybody.
‘Dance should be accessible for every age, every gender, everyone just to feel into the body and let go. To feel free, I think.’
Rebekka (centre) with Hannah Keane and Rosy Marshall at Culture Night in Bantry in 2024.
