Columbian actress and celebrity judge Sophia Vergara used her one chance on this season of “America’s Got Talent” (AGT) to hit the golden buzzer for the all-female Lebanese dance crew known as 'The Mayyas' - which translates to "the proud walk of a lioness”. This is not the first time the group has gotten praise within the “Got Talent” global franchise. In 2019, they earned the golden buzzer on “Arabs Got Talent”. Later that year, they made it to the semi-finals on “Britain’s Got Talent”.
In the latest iteration of the show, the choreographer for the group, Nadim Cherfan, brought the performance to a whole new level. The dancer was inspired by Nightbirde – AGT's golden buzzer recipient in 2021 who recently lost her battle with cancer – who stated that “we can’t wait until life isn’t hard anymore, before you decide to be happy”.
When asked to introduce themselves by the judges, the crew talked of how beautiful their home country was, despite everyone living a daily struggle due to the ongoing political and economic situation. The dancers were sad, but hopeful, to admit that being female Arab dancers is not fully supported... yet. They went on to say that “being on AGT is the only chance to prove to the world what Arab women can do, the art [they] can create, the fights [they] fight”. This created an even bigger challenge for the Mayyas, who aimed to take the judges' breaths away.
The dance was absolutely astounding; a jaw-dropping show of highly synchronized moves and immaculate dancing. The women wore black Arabian attire with gold beaded burqas. They made use of their arms, feathers, and shimmering hand art, to create appearance of deities, of slithering snakes, of flying birds, and to create the illusion of eyes, opening and closing. In the end, the performers came through with their promise to “hypnotize” all four judges – Simon Cowell, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel and most of all Sofia Vergara – with their stellar act. Simon Cowell, the show’s toughest critic, was blown away and said “This really, really will make a difference. Full stop,” he went on to described the performance as “arguably, the best dance act we are likely to have ever seen”. Vergara then exclaimed: “I would be so honored to empower you even more in this journey because you deserve it. And I want to be part of this!” At that, she slammed the golden buzzer and The Mayyas were showered in shimmering confetti.
Cherfan was choked up and in tears as his dancers hit the stage, and as they left, they were all emotionally elated. The crew truly demonstrated a powerful display of creativity, poise, and strength on stage. Their journey throughout the competition is not to be missed!
