Jawaahir Dance Co

Jawaahir Dance Company is a Minneapolis-based nonprofit professional company specializing in Raqs Sharqi and other Arab and Middle Eastern dance forms. Founded by Cassandra Shore and directed since 2022 by artistic director Vanessa of Cairo, an American dancer who lived and worked in Egypt from 2008 to 2020 and holds a BFA in ballet, the company performs at venues and festivals across Minnesota including the Minnesota State Fair, the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, Dances at the Lake Festival and Guild of Middle Eastern Dance haflas. Its main teaching activity is workshop-based rather than a weekly school: the annual Summer Soiree and Intensive brings in international guest artists for in-person workshops in Egyptian styles, dabke, finger cymbals, floorwork, beledi and golden-era technique, alongside Zoom series, private coaching and a year-long mentorship program. For ongoing weekly classes Jawaahir refers students to local independent instructors and to the Guild of Middle Eastern Dance.