soft//rupture

iona hannagan lewis

artist | performer | facilitator

I am an interdisciplinary artist working across live art, dance, and production, alongside a facilitation practice rooted in the body and community engagement. My work explores creative collective experience grounded in participatory methods.

I approach the body as a site of negotiation, and am interested in performance as a portal through which which we can practice alternative modes of being// together. My practice is informed by both artistic and social research, with a focus on access, inclusion, and the politics of participation.

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education

• MA Dance: Participation, Communities, Activism
  London Contemporary Dance School, 2024 – 2026
• MRes (Master by Research)
  Access to education and employment for refugees resettled in convergence areas of Wales
  University of South Wales, 2019
  Funded by European Social Fund (KESS 2)
• BA (Hons) Middle Eastern Studies and French (First Class)
  University of Exeter, 2014
• CELTA Qualification in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages
  Cambridge English, 2012
• 500 Hour Diploma in Yoga Teaching
  British Wheel of Yoga, 2019

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recent selected performances & productions

• “F?GHT F?CK”
  Durational performance, Temporary Cruising Zone, Birmingham, May 2026
• (gwag)le (ongoing)
  Practice-based participatory research into queer approaches to body and space, developed within The Place
• “The Fragility of Idylls”
  Durational performance activating ReSightings (Penny Hallas solo exhibition)
  The Elysium Gallery, March 2026
• Swansea Performance Festival
  Durational performance alongside Linder Sterling retrospective Danger Came Smiling
  Glynn Vivian Art Gallery, November 2025
• (my body / running wild / this animal) — Glorious / SERAFINE1369
  Chapter Arts Centre, October 2025
  Hugs — choreographed by Marion Plantey, Frankfurt, Germany, September 2025
• MOSH, Tactile Bosch
  Ffotogallery & G39, Cardiff
  June – August 2025
• “Underneath Is Us” (2025)
  Direction, production, and choreography in collaboration with Iona Hannagan Lewis and Anno Bolender
  Cardiff / London / Germany
  • Selected for ADRA Screendance Festival, April 2026
  • Archive: http://www.archivderzaertlichkeit.de/underneath-is-us/
• The Trembling Forest – emilyn claid Ceremony, a festival of performance. Peckham, London, April 2025
• Maes Chwarae — Experimentica
  Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff March 2024

facilitation (movement, dance & yoga)

Freelance, 2019 – Present

I facilitate movement practices that draw from dance, yoga, and somatic approaches, working across community, arts, and health contexts. My facilitation centres access embodiment, and community, creating spaces that support playfulness and connection.

• Designing and delivering workshops, classes, and festival sessions
• Working across LGBTQ+, refugee, and community settings

Collaborations and recent teaching contexts include

• Rosetta Life
• Protein Dance
• Micro Rainbow
• The Place
• ASKI
• Ardour Academy,
• Ty Ni Social Club,
• Global Gardens,
• Stretchy Suzies

Professional Member of People Dancing

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Community co-ordinator
Welsh Refugee Council, 2015 – 2017

Senior Social Researcher (Housing)
Welsh Government, 2019 – Present

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