  We analyse dilepton emission from hot and dense hadronic matter using a
hybrid approach based on the Ultrarelativistic Quantum Molecular Dynamics
(UrQMD) transport model with an intermediate hydrodynamic stage for the
description of heavy-ion collisions at relativistic energies. Focusing on the
enhancement with respect to the contribution from long-lived hadron decays
after freeze-out observed at the SPS in the low mass region of the dilepton
spectra (often referred to as "the excess"), the relative importance of the
emission from the equilibrium and the non-equilibrium stages is discussed.
