Mher Kandoyan

Mher Kandoyan is a second-year graduate student studying for his M.F.A. in Dance at the University of Maryland. Currently, he is focused on expanding his pedagogical approaches and researching the degendering of social Latin dances while actively incorporating it into his classes at the university. Mher explores intergenerational trauma, collective healing and dance as a form of catharsis. His latest project, “Journey” aspires to engage one and a half million participants in embodied performances aiming to address generational trauma. 

Mher is driven by the idea of empowering and educating individuals through dance and witnessing the transformative impact it can have on their lives. To further this goal, he founded The Backstage, a dance company in Lebanon. The company’s mission is to make dance accessible to everyone, ensuring it stays a medium of expression and freedom in a country marked by chaos and instability.

Mher also holds a B.A. in economics and a master's in management. Before moving to the United States, he served as a professor at Haigazian University and Holy Spirit University of Kaslik in Lebanon. He has also shared his expertise as a teacher in many dance festivals across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and the Gulf. 

Mher won the best show award at the Egypt International Dance Congress, is the seven-time champion of Lebanon in Latin Dance, and received the IPCCR grant and the 2023 DEL Arnhold Summer Fellowship in NYC.