Gaya de Medeiros

Gaya de Medeiros is a Brazilian dancer, choreographer, and producer. Interested in exploring the intersections between word and body, private and public, intimate and social, Gaya questions the place of drama in contemporary life. She studied Animation Cinema at UFMG (Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil) and, in the performing arts, trained in classical and contemporary dance, jazz, and urban dance forms. She also studied theater and butoh with masters such as Denise Stoklos, Tadashi Endo, Roberta Carrieri, and Cie Dos à Deux, among others. Between 2010 and 2019, she worked for nine years as a dancer and co-creator at the Dance Company of the Palácio das Artes.

Gaya is the author of the performances BAqUE, Pai para Jantar, Cafezinho, and Atlas da Boca — the latter presented at Aero Waves 2022 and widely toured internationally, with her works performed in over 15 countries and 27 cities. She served as movement director for the performances Ciclos (2018) and Kolakeia (2022), as well as for the short film Ouro Preto (2018), awarded at the Reel Sisters Film Festival in New York.

In Portugal, she has worked as a dancer and creator with Gustavo Ciríaco, Tiago Cadete, Sónia Baptista, Daniel Gorjão, Vítor Hugo, Olga Roriz, Alex Cassal, Silvio Vieira, and Rui Horta.

Gaya starred in the short film Um Caroço de Abacate, directed by Ary Zara, where she acted alongside Ivo Canelas. The film has been awarded at prestigious festivals worldwide and was shortlisted for the 2023 Oscars. In 2021, she founded BRABA.plataforma, an initiative that enables creative projects led by and for trans and/or non-binary people.