This afternoon, you’ll have a chance to hear Marsha Scarbrough discuss her new book, Medicine Dance, on Why Shamanism Now?, an online radio program hosted by Christina Pratt on The VoiceAmerica Talk Radio Network. The hour-long program airs live at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time (2:00 p.m. Pacific Time). You can hear archived episodes of Why Shamanism Now? at the same link.
The silver-haired Scarbrough is a veteran journalist and longtime Hollywood assistant director who worked with directors Clint Eastwood, Leonard Nimoy, Blake Edwards and Carl Reiner before moving from Los Angeles, California, to Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Scarbrough’s book, Medicine Dance: One Woman’s Healing Journey into the World of Native American Sweatlodges, Drumming Meditations and Dance Fasts, was a finalist for the 2008 New Mexico Book Awards as well as the USA Book News Awards. Here’s a description of what you can expect from today’s webcast:
Scarbrough shares with listeners what she has learned about the power of dance to heal from her work with the Native American teacher, Beautiful Painted Arrow/Joseph Rael, and Ayo Adeyemi, the Nigerian master drummer/Yoruba ceremonial leader.
Interviewing Scarbrough will be Why Shamanism Now? host Christina Pratt, author of the two-volume Encyclopedia of Shamanism from Rosen Publishing. Pratt runs the Last Mask Center for Shamanic Healing out of Portland, Oregon. Her web radio show airs every Wednesday afternoon.
To close, here are a few lovely words from Marsha Scarbrough about the healing power of dance:
[Dance is] a meditation for the dancer. The movement itself is prayer. Dance and rhythm are the means by which shamans can repaired or restore vibration. Since we are actually vibration rhythm, dance and ritual can be used to heal us.
