REBEKKAH SCHOONBEEK-BERRIDGE
(Ngāti Maru)
| CHOREOGRAPHER | DANCER | SINGER | ACTRESS | BURLESQUE PERFORMER| DANCE EDUCATION |
As an Auckland-based performer and seasoned arts practitioner with over a decade of creative arts industry experience, I have developed a keen eye for movement that has seen me work with large and small groups of dancers and non-dancers to create emotionally resonant and engaging works.
I am passionate about movement, life, and storytelling, fuelling my repertoire in dance education, choreography, dance/theatre adjudication, performance, and artistic creations. I relish moving from one project to the next, assuming different roles when required. I am so grateful to be working in this vast creative industry.
Recently, I completed a postgraduate diploma from the University of Auckland, which enabled me to expand my knowledge base and delve deeper into dance academia. My research is currently exploring the potential of New Zealand Sign Language as a choreographic form, hoping to help bridge the gap between the artistic-hearing and non-hearing communities in Aotearoa.
NGĀ MIHI,
R.S.B
BIO
An in-demand professional Dancer, Choreographer, Singer and Actress, Rebekkah has trained in Auckland and later in New York at "Broadway Dance Centre” and in 2021 completed her Post Graduate Diploma in Dance Studies with Auckland University. Founder of dynamic dance theatre company LUCK & SCHOONEY, Rebekkah is co-artistic director of the annual spectacle cabaret “Night of the Queer”.
Her choreographic work has been seen in many theatre productions (Basement X-Mas, Rock Follies Forever), musicals (We Will Rock You, West Side Story, Be More Chill), music videos (“Running Wild” - INDIGO, “Currents of Black Blood” - Yan Yates) corporate events (Skycity, Diamond Entertainment), TV (Media Works, DWTS) and competition solo/group performances.
In 2015 she was awarded “Stand Out Female Performer” for her contemporary choreography “The Crickets Have Arthritis” (Short + Sweet Dance Festival), and in 2016 completed a one-month Contemporary Indigenous Dance Residency at Banff Arts Centre in Canada. In 2019, Rebekkah performed at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Two Hearts: The Comeback Tour with Laura Daniel and Joseph Moore and is a regular burlesque performer in the Auckland region with appearances in SNUFF Cabaret and Night of the Queer.
Her theatre credits include Shortland Street The Musical (ATC) featuring on the original cast recording album, Pleasuredome the Musical, Chicago (ATC), Persuasion, Artemis, Anything Goes and 42nd Street. She has appeared on television (X-Factor, Jono and Ben), in multiple music videos (Marlon Williams, Stan Walker, The Eversons), and modelled for Les Mills Gym.
She has been heavily involved in New Zealand dance education, teaching for the past ten years. She has developed curriculums for multiple institutions, including NZQA Level 4 & 5 dance curriculum for Excel Performing Arts, with her position as Head of Department for two years.
