Despite her parents' desire for her to focus on her education, she continued dancing until high school and formed a dance group with her friends, entitled "UNIQUE GIRLS". The group was successful and led to Mahder and her co-performers being invited to be background dancers with a range of Ethiopian musicians, including Dawit Melesse and Tibebu Workiye. Coverage on television led to her mother discovering her dancing hobby, and the group disbanded to allow Mahder to focus on education.