This was Sham3dan (nasa4nasa), as part of Next Festival

Three times, Abby became an enchanting dance floor shaped by a choreography of repetition, energy and resistance. Moving in sync through the space, the dancers illuminated an Egyptian history marked by colonisation and power. They carried not only a candelabrum on their heads, but also the weight of their past and of all the iconic dancers who came before them.

The shamdan dance (the candelabrum dance) is a playful and singular art form that emerged in the 19th century, when a dancer would announce a wedding by walking through the dark streets of the city with a lit candelabrum on her head, lighting the way forward. Since then, the shamdan has become a familiar sight at weddings and festive ceremonies.

But the dance is more than sensual entertainment for the male gaze. With their flames, the dancers help shape the politics of the female body. Inspired by forgotten and imagined stories of their Egyptian predecessors, the collective Nasa4nasa evokes a world where female power, colonisation and mysticism intertwine.

A heartfelt thank you to the dancers who made our chapel glow, and to everyone who shared this special moment with us.