vaniagala: July 2021

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Joy Inside Our Tears - Wellcome Collection

Joy Inside Our Tears opened this week at the Wellcome Collection @wellcomecollection . The work explores the power and pleasure of social dance and duration to overcome societal trauma. Made during the lockdown this past winter. The work is presented as part of the Joy and Tranquility exhibitions from 15 July 2021—27 February 2022.

By Harold Offeh
Performers: Samra Mayanja @samra_mayanja, Veronica Cordova de la Rosa
@veronica_cordovadelarosa, Ebun Sodipo @epastry and Harold Offeh

Choreography. Dr Vania Gala @vaniagala
Sound Design. Xana @xa88na
Vinyl Design and Photography, Eloise Calandre @eloise_calandre
Editing and Production Manager, Jack Scott 
Production Assistant: James Johnson 

Curators George Vasey @georgevasey and Laurie Britton Newell @lauriecurates 
Exhibitions manager Bryony Harris @bryonyrosanna  
@wellcomecollection

There are fantastic commissions by artists @_jasleen.kaur_ @amaliapica @chrystal_lebas and @davidshringley 

Images: Joy Inside Our Tears, Harold Offeh 2021; Joy, Wellcome Collection / Steven Pocock, 2021. CC-BY-NC

Vania Gala

Vânia Gala is a choreographer and researcher based in London. She holds a BA in Dance from EDDC (European Dance Development Center, Arnhem) and Master of Arts in Choreography with Distinction (Trinity Laban). She is a PhD candidate at Kingston University and a PASS studentship awardee. Gala’s research, choreographies and "conversational performances" explore the critical potential of opacity and withdrawal in choreography in the present time. Latest performative interventions include the give&take series at Tate Modern and Mesa para Práticas de Cabeça para Baixo ou de Pernas para o Ar at Museum of Modern Art Calouste Gulbenkian (2019). Collaborations as performer have involved Les Ballets C. de La B., Constanza Macras and Sonia Boyce. She has collaborated as a choreographer with visual artists Sonia Boyce, Harold Hoffeh and Griot theatre company.. Commissions include “Cooling Down Signs” a Pan- European commission by Beyond Front@ performed at Dance Week Festival (HR), D.I.D (AT), Front@ Festival (SI), Bakelit (HU). In 2019 she was awarded Best Choreography Award by Theatre Guide Awards (Portugal) for her collaboration with GRIOT. Her choreographic work has been performed in Angola, Portugal, Norway, Germany, Ireland, UK, Russian Federation and Austria. In 2005 she was awarded with “Best Female Performance” at the Dublin Fringe Festival, was part of Aerowaves Festival at the Place, London and of the 1st Triennial of Luanda (Angola). In 2007 she performed at the 1st African Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Vânia Gala has supervised MA and MFA dissertations (practice-based, practice-as-research and fully written) and has taught practice released based technique, Composition Modules and Choreography. Prior to Trinity Laban Conservatoire for Music and Dance she taught undergraduate modules at Northampton and Kingston Universities.