Faculty

AIPA’s faculty consists of highly-trained educators with diverse professional, and personal backgrounds, who are also accomplished performers in their own right.

Sarah Faouri

Director of Dance

Sarah Faouri began dancing at the National Center for Culture and Arts in Amman at the age of six. After completing her Royal Academy of Dance examination, Sarah continued her professional training at Danceworks Berlin, from which she graduated with a degree in contemporary dance and choreography in 2021.

Sarah has performed works by renowned choreographers such as Christina Mertzani, Heidi Weiss, and Michael Langeneckert at varioustheaters across Berlin. Additionally, she choreographed for and performed with MISK Dance Company at the Amman Contemporary Dance Festival in 2022 and 2023.

Sarah now heads the dance department at the Amman Institute of Performing Arts and leads the Sarab Dance Collective, both initiatives of Bank al Etihad Foundation.

Cynthia Tokajian has been passionate about the performing arts from a young age. She trained in classical ballet and contemporary dance at the National Center for Culture and Arts before joining MISK Dance Company in 2011. With MISK, she performed at various festivals locally and internationally, including in Jordan, Bahrain, Turkey, and Italy. Through short workshops and residencies, she had the opportunity to train with various international contemporary dance companies such as Panta Rei, Guy Nader & Maria Campos, among others.

As a choreographer, Cynthia premiered two contemporary dance pieces at the Amman Contemporary Dance Festival in 2018 and 2019, as well as at the Beirut International Platform of Dance in 2019.

Since 2015, she has been teaching ballet and modern/contemporary dance in various schools and institutions.

In 2023, Cynthia joined Sarab Dance Collective and continues to perform with the company.

Yara Abdallat began her ballet training at a young age before joining the National Center for Culture and Arts (NCCA) in Amman, where she refined her technique and deepened her passion for dance. She trained extensively in classical ballet, performing in various productions and developing a strong foundation in movement and artistry.

Alongside her ballet training, Yara explored contemporary dance, expanding her movement vocabulary and artistic expression as she attended numerous workshops led by international artists visiting for the Amman Contemporary Dance Festival. These experiences allowed her to explore diverse movement styles and broaden her artistic perspective. She has also performed at multiple editions of ACDF.

Now, Yara teaches classical ballet at NCCA and contemporary dance at the Amman Institute of Performing Arts (AIPA), where she is committed to guiding young dancers in refining their technique, enhancing their artistic expression, and developing a strong foundation in movement.



Committed to both performance and education, Yara continues to evolve as a dancer and instructor, sharing her passion for movement with the next generation of artists.