Tonight’s piece, (Re)Ascending, is especially meaningful. Michael was originally scheduled to perform in Celebration of Dance last year, but an injury sustained during the residency show the week before prevented him from returning to the stage.

For Michael, this dance form - Dabke - is both a statement of self and an exploration of community. While most of us here won't understand every symbol or story within the dance, and we won't have time to dance with him today, his hope is that you look for meaning in it and that you feel something as it's experienced - how we carry where we come from, express who we are, and the ways movement can still connect us even when we come from different places.

Title: (Re)Ascending
Choreographed by: Michael Kahwajy-Hyland
Music by: MKH Dabke Mix 1 – Ascending, “Folklore” by Ghassan Saliba, “Dabke Song by Wadkih El Cheikh, “Arab Arab” by Enes Hari
Performer: Michael Kahwajy-Hyland

Guest Artist Bio: Tonight’s guest performer has built his work around a simple idea: that meaningful movement can connect people to themselves, to culture, and to one another. 

Michael Kahwajy-Hyland is the Lebanese-American Founder & Creative Director of MKH Dabke & Middle Eastern Dance Entertainment. Through performance, education, and community engagement, his work has helped make MKH Dabke a growing national resource for sharing Levantine culture through dance, storytelling, and connection - all of which the University of Richmond campus got to experience during his time as Artist in Residence in 2025. Since then, Michael was named to the Arab America Foundation’s 40 Under 40 list and appointed by the Mayor to Richmond City’s Arts & Culture Advisory Group.