Toha (Sarah Jones-Larson), 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.

She has taught stage makeup for Oriental dancers for the Guild of Oriental Dance, at Oasis Dance Camp, regional workshops, and for individuals since 1994.

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.

Outside of dance, Toha (under her birth name, Sarah Jones) is in demand as a voiceover performer. She has provided the voice on hundreds of commercials, training videos, telephone systems, and even a few computer games. She has also worked as a radio announcer (on-air name: Salina Jones) in New York, Philadelphia, Denver, and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Her most recent radio show was on every afternoon at Philadelphia's Smooth Jazz WJJZ. Her accomplishments in radio are detailed at www.voiceresults.com. Also, as an actress, she has performed on-camera or live for Comedy Central, 3M Medical, AMC Jeep, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, and others.

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.

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