Dancer Lori Hanson performs during a previous Cairo on the Kaw performance. This is the 14th year for the dance event.

Rhythms of Egypt will fill the Lawrence Community Theatre, 1501 N.H., this weekend.

The 14th annual Cairo on the Kaw dance event is at 8 tonight and 2 Sunday afternoon. It will feature a variety of Egyptian styles performed by 11 dancers who have been involved in the Middle Eastern dance program at Lawrence Parks and Recreation.

“People come back year after year,” says Jo Anne Zingo-Hargis, dance instructor and event organizer. “One lady has been to all 13 previous productions. Two of us have danced in all of them.”

She says nearly anyone can enjoy the experience of watching the event.

“First-timers are always pleasantly surprised,” she says. “They may never have seen Middle Eastern dance, or perhaps have only seen a dancer at a restaurant or the Renaissance Festival and have expectations based on that.”

Zingo-Hargis says as far as she knows, the closest similar event to Cairo on the Kaw is held in Minneapolis, Minn.

“Think of it this way,” Zingo-Hargis says. “It costs about the same as a movie, but you get live entertainment, and the food afterwards is much better than popcorn and Jujubes.”