All-female Lebanese dance troupe the Mayyas returned to the “America’s Got Talent” stage on Sept. 7 with yet another spectacular performance.
If you haven’t seen their first appearance on “AGT,” do yourself a favor and watch it. The group, whose name means “walk of the Lioness,” earned themselves a nearly instant Golden Buzzer back in June after promising to “hypnotize” the audience and totally delivering on that promise.
Blending both Chinese and Lebanese folklore, the decadently clad women created mesmerizing illusions on the dance floor all in precise synchronization. Judge Sofía Vergara called it “the most beautiful creative dancing I’ve ever seen.”
The Mayyas certainly perfected their act for the competition’s semifinal, offering a kaleidoscopic display that was nothing short of jaw-dropping.
The group’s presence always has a delightful eeriness, but this time it was downright goosebump inducing—particularly when one dancer transformed her hands into a snake’s head and puppeted a message in Arabic that, according to The National News, translates to: “His soul and my soul, my soul and his soul, saw two souls existing in one body.”
Earlier in the show’s season, the troupe shared that for women in Arab culture, building a dance career was not generally supported. Winning would mean getting a chance to “prove to the world what Arab women can do, the art we can create, the fights we fight.”
It seems that breaking barriers is exactly what the Mayyas came to do, and they are undoubtedly succeeding. As soon as their beautiful and chilling act finished, Vergara ran up to the stage to give the dancers a hug. Howie Mandel called the Mayyas the “best moment in AGT history,” saying they “need to be the poster people for female empowerment.”
Even Simon Cowell declared that this is a performance that “changes the world.”
Countless singers, dancers and variety acts come to “AGT” in hopes to win the ultimate prize (other than the million bucks, of course)—becoming a headline Vegas act.
The Mayyas are well on their way to that coveted destination. But even if they don’t make it to the very end, they have already won in other ways.