Toha (Sarah Catherine Jones), formerly a very popular teacher at the Cassandra School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was also a member of the professional touring group Jawaahir Dance Company.
She has taught literally thousands of very popular and well-attended
dance classes over the years at a wide variety of venues.
At age 10, Toha made her stage debut in New York’s Lincoln Center performing Classical Spanish Dance with New York’s Philharmonic Orchestra. Already adept on the castanets at age 12, she appeared in The Philadelphia Opera Company’s
Carmen with Robert Merrill and Joanna Simon. She danced with
Philadelphia’s Ballet Des Jeunes for five years, performing ballet,
jazz, and Spanish dance throughout the New Jersey and Philadelphia
area, with semiannual European tours.
At age 15, she joined Ecos De Espana in New York City, performing
Classical Spanish, Escuela Bolero, Jota, Flamenco, and folk dances of
Puerto Rico. She performed as a Flamenco soloist at The Sangria in
Greenwich Village on weekends, and after completing high school in New
Jersey, moved to Manhattan to pursue a career in dance full time.
Later,
she danced with the ACT Studio Dancers in Denver, Colorado, and in
Minneapolis has performed with Zorongo Flamenco and Theatre De La Jeune
Lune.
Toha joined Jawaahir in 1994, which inspired
her to immerse more deeply in Arabic music and culture. In 1999, she
completed two years of Arabic at the University of Minnesota, then spent two months traveling alone in the Arab world to practice her language skills.
In 2001, with Cassandra and other members of Jawaahir, Toha performed
at the Second International Conference on Middle Eastern Dance in Costa
Mesa, California. Later that summer, she made her Arabic singing debut
with the Georges Lammam Ensemble in "Orientalia" in Minneapolis.
Toha is known for her grace, compelling taxims, and excellent
technique, and is an expert on the finger cymbals. Arab audiences say
she has the correct feeling for the music. She was regularly seen twice
a month at Jerusalem's Restaurant in Minneapolis until her recent move
to Philadelphia. In trips to the mideast, she has brought back costumes and products for dance students. She has presented dozens of educational talks on mideast family culture to schools and non-profit organizations.
Her
community involvement has led her to present dozens of educational
talks on Mideast family culture to schools and non-profit
organizations. Additionally, she co-founded New Reality Delivery
for disadvantaged youth (with her husband) to teach group skills to
adult volunteers, theater skills to youth, and provide targeted theater
services for disadvantaged youth.
"Sarah
is an excellent and much-requested dance instructor with an extensive
vocabulary of movement, exercises and vocalizations. She is proactive
about presenting dance material in ways the student will find effective
and fun, and has done much work to increase the impact of her
instruction, including research trips overseas.
"Sarah
is a dedicated artist, fine entertainer and excellent dance instructor,
and was a respected member of my dance company, Jawaahir, for over 10
years.
"She
works well with and respects others, and is admired and respected in
turn by other instructors and dancers. Sarah always arrives promptly
for performances, classes and rehearsals. She would fit nicely into any
teaching staff environment."
- Cassandra Shore Founder, Jawaahir and the Cassandra school
cassandr @ jawaahir.org
"Sarah's
commitment and dedication is that of a serious teacher. She works well
in an organization, using her professional dance company experience as
an asset.
"As
an educator, she reveals a depth found in very few dancers of this
genre. She has achieved an innate understanding of the principles of
Middle Eastern dance.
"I am delighted to recommend her! Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions."
- Habiba Founder, The Habiba Studio (215) 925-5436
611 S. Leithgow St., Philadelphia, PA 19147
"Sarah
had quite a loyal following for her belly dance classes in several
cities. Her teaching style and warm, easy-going personality made people
feel at ease and they definitely had fun!
"Many
of her students continued through several levels. Sarah was easy to
work with and thorough when planning upcoming classes and administering
current ones.
"I highly recommend hiring and working with Sarah!"
"Highly
competent, inspirational, wise, and compassionate, Sarah encourages and
challenges students across all levels. She is a master teacher.
"She
creates a safe and fun learning environment with humor and humility,
and draws usefully on her experience presenting seminars nation-wide,
developing fit-dance in fitness centers, instructing professional
dancers and maintaining a demanding rehearsal and performance schedule.
"Her
lifelong classical and ethnic and dance training and her knowledge of
alignment and fitness principles gives her teaching the grounding,
inter-cultural zest and style dancers are seeking these days, from
beginner to advanced, fitness-dancer to professional.
"I
value her work very highly for students of every level. Please contact
me should you need more specific detail on her work."