Thread: Shamedan candle options please!

I'd love your help with shamedan candle ideas. Our theatre won't allow wax candles to be burned and are concerned with smoke. I am not a fan of electric shamedans. Have you used or seen other candle options? Any ideas would be wonderful! Thanks so much!! :)

I really like my watch battery-operated flickering candles for shamadan...no wax spills, no danger of fire, not too heavy (like AA battery-operated candles can be). They have a more realistic-looking flame and taper than the cheap kind you can find anywhere around the holidays (plastic taper, clear bulb-flame, you know). I had resigned myself to these in lieu of open flame. I'm interested in hearing what other ideas are out there.

The only other option I've heard is to use those leaf-shaped sequin/pailette things stuck into a regular wax candle to mimic the look of the flame. I can't remember from where I heard this. I'd rather use battery-operated candles, myself. I'd be afraid the sequin things would fall out of the wax or they'd just look cheap.

I suppose you could ditch candles entirely and go with something else, like flowers. A rose fitted into each of the candle holders of a shamadan decked out with sparkling crystal bead drapes might seem romantic and pretty. I wouldn't do this for any sort of performance in a cultural context though.

What about if you used Moroccan tea glasses or another colored votive holder and battery powered flickering tea lights? I would velcro the glasses to the shamedan for added security. It would be heavy, but it would give a pretty good illusion of real flickering candle light and would cast a pretty glow.
Last spring I was in a show where the the director didn't want to ask the venue if it was okay for me to dance with lit taper candles on my head for fear the venue would say no. To lesson post show drama I ended up using real tea lights that I velcroed to my shamadan. There weren't many people in the audience who had ever seen a shamadan performance before so my taper candles weren't missed.
I hope this helps!