Living Advent Calendar Day 12: Belly dance the night away 

Residents learned to belly dance at The Relais last night for the 12th day of the Living Advent Calendar.

Advent goers braved the minus temperatures to gather in the Relais courtyard which had two acts perform.

Singer songwriter Holly Shillito was the main performance. Starting with her own song Illuminate, she sang a number of covers of Christmastime hits starting with Coldplay’s Christmas Lights, followed by Stay Another Day by East 17 and 2 Become 1 by the Spice Girls.

The acoustic singer was returning to the event for the second time, after first playing in 2019. 

The second surprise performance of the night was belly dancer Sheb Bamsey. Decked in sequins Ms Bamsey wowed onlookers with her moves and encouraged four members of the crowd to join her for the second song. Ms Bamsey was the first dance performance of this year’s Living Advent and entertained all present in the courtyard.

The evening raised money for the Henley Mermaids, a group of five women undertaking open water swimming challenges for charity. This year their chosen cause is the Henley Community Hub and the refurbishment of Trinity Hall.

Over the past three years the Mermaids have raised £90,000 for various charities and this year aim to raise £1 million, the estimated amount it will take for Trinity Hall to be fit for purpose as a home for groups such as the Henley Music School.

The evening finished with a rendition of Silent Night by Ms Shillito, who encouraged the crowd to join in. She was thrilled to be back playing for the calendar and thankful for a large turnout on a chilly night.

She said: “I normally only sing my own songs, so to finish with one that everyone could sing along to was really nice.

“It has taken time to build up confidence to do this. I only started performing a year-and-a-half before lockdown, after always wanting to get involved but being too scared to do so.

“It’s taken me to get to this point to trust myself that I can do it.”

Holly Shillito can be found on all music streaming platforms, such as Spotify, and hopes to release some more of her own music in the new year.

Tonight the Living Advent trail continues at the d:two centre.