Following the performance of Hazem Header’s MANEATER on March 22, we invite the audience to an artist talk about queer art in Egypt with Hazem Header and Warehouse9 board member, Niels Bjørn.
Hazem Header is an Egyptian contemporary dancer and choreographer. In 2021, he founded the Breaking Walls Dance Film Festival, Egypt’s and the region’s first dance film festival. Prior to that in 2017, Hazem launched the Breaking Walls Festival, Cairo’s first international festival for site-specific performances. Previously, he combined his passion for movement and artistry to create NÜT Dance Company-NDC in 2013, a legally recognized entity in Cairo that produces dance performances and cultural events.
Hazem has gained international recognition for his contributions to contemporary performing arts. He was selected in 2021 as a member of the IETM/International Network for Contemporary Performing Arts’ Global Connectors program and, in 2024, was elected to the IETM Advisory Committee for a three-year term. Hazem earned a Bachelor of Arts in Physical Education, with a focus on personal training, biomechanics, and kinesiology. He also studied at the governmental center, Cairo Contemporary Dance Centre (CCDC) at the Cairo Opera House.
Niels Bjørn just finished editing a 3-part podcast series about queer life in Egypt. Niels Bjørn travelled in Egypt, collecting stories from LGBT+ people, and in this process, Hazem Header was very helpful in connecting Niels Bjørn with Egyptian LGBT+people. The podcast series documents the hardships these groups face in a country that – despite its long queer history – now puts effort into tracking down, persecuting and punishing LGBT+people. The podcast series will launch in April or May as one of the stories in the new LGBT+podcast “Ufortalt” (Untold). Niels Bjørn founded “Ufortalt” with two other queer radio professionals and podcasters. Also, Niels Bjørn has a background in film and tv, has worked as a programmer for Copenhagen Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, as Communications Manager for World Outgames in Copenhagen, and now works as an urbanist, writer and podcaster.
Tickets
Free entrance for the artist talk, it will directly follow the MANEATER performance March 22.
Click here for tickets for MANEATER.
IPAF
IPAF is Warehouse9’s international performance festival. The festival is a vital extension of the organisation’s dedicated work to support and present LGBTQIA+ artists and cultural practitioners. IPAF is a dynamic meeting place that creates opportunities for artistic development, live performances, and facilitates spaces for dialogue and community.
This year, the festival is co-produced with Dansehallerne and presents genre-bending work in Copenhagen that actively engages with identity politics, sexual expressions, and body representations. IPAF is founded on the strong belief that dance and performance can offer new perspectives and understandings of reality, inspire collective imagination, and advocate for better and more just futures.
IPAF is made possible with support from Dansehallerne, Statens Kunstfond, Københavns Kommune and Vesterbro Lokaludvalg.
