ANKOLE is a BIPOC-owned Queer Circus Arts and Wellness Community hailing from Lenape Territory now known as the boogey-down Bronx, NY. "PONYA" (Swahili for heal, cure) tells 3 stories of how black bodies and Queer identities are stigmatized in Western medicine. This performance combines Aerial Circus, dance and theater.

Story 1 pays tribute to Henrietta Lacks (she/her), a black woman who sought treatment for cervical cancer in 1951. Scientists used her cells to conduct scientific research without her knowledge nor consent; her family winning a settlement in 2023. Labeled as HeLa cells, these cells were essential in the development of various vaccines including COVID-19.

Story 2 highlights the 1940s-1960s medical procedure, transorbital lobotomy, to cure mentally-ill patients. Since homosexuality and gender fluidity was considered psychotic, numerous patients with these identities received this treatment. One is reminiscing memories of their long lost lover, journaling as an attempt to recall them as the procedure attempts to wipe them out.

Story 3 emphasizes the ongoing debate on Intersex Medical Interventions in order for bodies to fit into a binary-sex standard. Self-acceptance and finding community helps those seek justice, fighting for their voices to be heard and the right to body autonomy.