The Lebanese community is buzzing after Mayyas won America's Got Talent season 17.
The dance troupe wowed judges and millions of viewers over the course of three stunning performances, taking home the $1 million prize and the chance to headline a Las Vegas show.
They're the first act from the Middle East to win the US title, and only the third non-American act to win.
It all started in 2012, when choreographer and dancer Nadim Cherfan launched his own dance classes and studios around Beirut.
Although Cherfan started dancing aged 14, going on to attend workshops in the UK, the US and India, his love for the art began when he was only 9.
He created Mayyas, which consists of more than 30 professional dancers, after deciding to apply for season six of Arab's Got Talent, which the group won in 2019. They became the first Lebanese act to do so and received a new car and a 200,000 Saudi riyal ($53,333) cash prize.
Lebanese singer Najwa Karam, who gave them her golden buzzer, which puts an act on fast track to the live shows, saw then what it took the world another three years to realise: she was in the company of stars.
“You can tell just how much work they put into it,” she said at the time.
Fast-forward to 2022 and America's Got Talent judge Sofia Vergara said something similar, giving them another golden buzzer.
Their audition on 'America's Got Talent' can be watched below
"There are no words to explain to you what we were feeling over here," said Vergara. "It was the most beautiful, creative dancing I have ever seen."
Sandwiched between these two triumphs is a less successful turn on Britain's Got Talent: The Champions, an international spin-off of the talent show on UK TV, where they were eliminated before the final round.
It took three years for them to apply for America's Got Talent as Cherfan "put my dreams aside" owing to the pandemic, Lebanon struggling with one of the world’s worst economic crises, as described by the World Bank, and the deadly port blast that killed more than 200 people.
"Like everyone else in Lebanon, I was thinking about my family and their well-being,” Cherfan previously told The National in the middle of their run on America's Got Talent. “Then I watched Nightbirde’s audition in 2021 and I was really moved."
Jane “Nightbirde” Marczewski was an America's Got Talent contestant who wowed judges and received Cowell's golden buzzer. The American singer had cancer when she auditioned and ultimately withdrew from the competition owing to her deteriorating health. She died in February, aged 31.
“She was fighting for her life and still took to the stage to share her talent with the world,” said Cherfan. “She inspired me to take the chance to represent my country and audition, so we went for it.”
Cherfan and the ladies worked extra hard after that. “Every day we’re in the studio from afternoon 'til after midnight,” Cherfan said. "We only leave when the power goes off."
That hard work has paid off and now Cherfan's crew are looking at headlining a massive America's Got Talent show at Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas.
They're also proud to be role models for Arab women on an international stage.
After that dazzling audition, from the wings, one member said: "This is to represent what Arab women, Lebanese women, can do."
Mohamad Ajouz, 21, a friend of the dancers, agreed with this sentiment ahead of the finals.
“Seeing a Lebanese group on the biggest stage in the world means everything to me and all the Lebanese people," he said. "They represent what the Lebanese woman can do and what the Lebanese citizens have to offer.”
Even the name, Mayyas, "is a word in Arabic that means the proud walk of a lioness", one member told Vergara during the audition.
Ultimately, however, dancing will always remain an "escape". “Dancing is our cure," said Cherfan. “Once we’re inside the studio, nothing else matters.”
Top 10 most polluted cities
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Company%20Profile
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The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The Details
Kabir Singh
Produced by: Cinestaan Studios, T-Series
Directed by: Sandeep Reddy Vanga
Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Kiara Advani, Suresh Oberoi, Soham Majumdar, Arjun Pahwa
Rating: 2.5/5
The drill
Recharge as needed, says Mat Dryden: “We try to make it a rule that every two to three months, even if it’s for four days, we get away, get some time together, recharge, refresh.” The couple take an hour a day to check into their businesses and that’s it.
Stick to the schedule, says Mike Addo: “We have an entire wall known as ‘The Lab,’ covered with colour-coded Post-it notes dedicated to our joint weekly planner, content board, marketing strategy, trends, ideas and upcoming meetings.”
Be a team, suggests Addo: “When training together, you have to trust in each other’s abilities. Otherwise working out together very quickly becomes one person training the other.”
Pull your weight, says Thuymi Do: “To do what we do, there definitely can be no lazy member of the team.”
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Key products and UAE prices
iPhone XS
With a 5.8-inch screen, it will be an advance version of the iPhone X. It will be dual sim and comes with better battery life, a faster processor and better camera. A new gold colour will be available.
Price: Dh4,229
iPhone XS Max
It is expected to be a grander version of the iPhone X with a 6.5-inch screen; an inch bigger than the screen of the iPhone 8 Plus.
Price: Dh4,649
iPhone XR
A low-cost version of the iPhone X with a 6.1-inch screen, it is expected to attract mass attention. According to industry experts, it is likely to have aluminium edges instead of stainless steel.
Price: Dh3,179
Apple Watch Series 4
More comprehensive health device with edge-to-edge displays that are more than 30 per cent bigger than displays on current models.
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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Specs%20
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ZAYED SUSTAINABILITY PRIZE
