In September 2022, a Lebanese dance troupe did what politics had failed to do for years: they gave the country a shared moment of unfiltered joy. When Mayyas were announced as winners of season 17 of America?s Got Talent, Lebanese social media, TV channels and even official statements lit up with pride.
Reporting by Ahram Online and other outlets described how people across confessional and generational lines celebrated the all-female group?s victory. In a country living through one of the worst economic collapses in modern history, the sight of Lebanese dancers holding a U.S. talent-show trophy felt almost unreal.
Mayyas ? founded and choreographed by Nadim Cherfan ? had already impressed judges and audiences with their precision work on earlier talent shows. But the AGT performances took the concept to another level: large-scale formations, shifting geometric patterns of arms and bodies, and lighting that turned the group into a single organism on stage.
The win came with a prize reported at one million dollars and a Las Vegas headline show, but the symbolic value was even greater. Lebanese pop star Elissa tweeted her congratulations, calling herself ?proud, proud, proud,? while caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati praised the troupe for making Lebanese creativity shine in front of the world. Other politicians and public figures rushed to associate themselves with the success.
For ordinary viewers, the reaction was more visceral. One social media user quoted by AFP summed it up: the group came from a country ?ravaged by crisis? and still managed to be the best. That sense of ?we did this despite everything? explains why footage of their performances circulated far beyond typical entertainment circles.
Mayyas? win also fits into a longer story. The troupe had already taken first place in Arabs Got Talent and reached advanced stages in other competitions, building a track record that turned them into a symbol of disciplined, ambitious Lebanese artistry. Their AGT victory simply made that reputation impossible to ignore.
For a few days, Lebanon?s news cycle paused its usual focus on electricity cuts, currency crashes and political stalemate. Instead, the country spoke about choreography, costume details and a group of women who turned years of practice into an unforgettable sequence of images on a global stage.
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