Jawaahir Dance Company’s Voice of Egypt: Um Kalthoum

Just when we’re realizing that our knowledge of the Middle East has grown far too reliant on CNN—thankfully, along comes Jawaahir’s summer show, devoted to the Arab world’s most popular diva, Um Kalthoum. We’ll take a stab at explaining her significance by saying that during the fifties and sixties, she was to Egypt and indigenous Arab culture what U2’s Bono now is to Africa and international debt. The Midwest’s only professional Middle Eastern dance company has imported the San Francisco-based Georges Lammam Ensemble to perform Kalthoum’s music; and they’re also hosting lectures on Egyptian culture and screenings of a documentary on Kalthoum, all the better to expand our horizons. 1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis; (612) 340-1725; www.southerntheater.org