BEAUTIFUL RESISTANCE to be Presented Live at London's Union Chapel

Beautiful Resistance, a night of courage, creativity and hope with young dancers from Alrowwad dabka dance group in Bethlehem, Oud player Saied Silbak and poet Haia Mohammed, will be presented live at London's Union Chapel. The event will take place on Sunday 7 December at 7.30pm.

This will be a fundraising event for the Amos Trust Christmas Appeal presented in association with Bethlehem Cultural Festival.

In Bethlehem's Aida Refugee Camp, children and young people gather in studios and streets, armed not with weapons but with brushes, cameras, drums, words and dance steps. This is Alrowwad Cultural & Arts Society, a community transforming fear into courage and oppression into art, empowering young people through creative programmes.

'Beautiful Resistance' is how they describe it - bold, non-violent expression through theatre, music, photography and storytelling. Each performance is a declaration that identity, hope and dignity cannot be silenced.

The seven dancers and musician of Alrowwad's dabka dance group bring their new production Anfaas (Breaths) to Union Chapel, Islington on Sunday 7 December as part of Beautiful Resistance Live. They bring stories of loss, love and defiant joy to the stage, told through rhythm, movement and music.

Also performing that evening are the Palestinian virtuoso Oud player Saied Silbak, playing his own compositions, and 23-year-old poet Haia Mohammed from Khan Younis in Gaza.

Silbak has a unique understanding of a wide range of musical traditions - from Arabic, Turkish and Indian to classical Western styles. His Signature Sound, fusing these influences, has captivated audiences around the world, with performances at festivals and concert series across the UK, Belgium, France, Palestine, Morocco, Argentina and beyond.

Haia Mohammed lived in Gaza with her mother and sisters. Her love of the sea, the sky, art, her country and her family runs through her writing. She arrived in London in September 2025 to begin her studies as part of the first group of scholars successfully evacuated from Gaza to the UK. She will be reading poems from her debut poetry pamphlet, The Age of Olive Trees, published this year by Out-Spoken Press and named by The Guardian as one of its Best Recent Poetry titles.

Aida Refugee Camp, just outside Bethlehem, has been described as 'the most tear-gassed place in the world.' Since October 2023, the camp has faced daily incursions by Israeli occupying forces and its children and young people live under constant threat of violence, arrest and detention.

The evening is presented in association with Bethlehem Cultural Festival. Artistic director Melissa Scott says: "In the context of the ongoing suffering Palestinians are experiencing, Bethlehem Cultural Festival feels it is particularly important to give a voice to Palestinian artists and cultural practitioners. We seek to provide partnerships between artists in the UK and Palestine and provide an independent platform for Palestinian artists."