Tucson Weekly: Cheap Thrills (January 22

Cheap Thrills BACK IN THE GROOVE: After a woeful absence, that raucous, whirling and deliciously sweaty affair known as the Club Rhythm Dance Jam is back in action. A casualty of the sale of its former home at the Southwest Center for Music, the jam was in remission for 13 long months. Now it's back, and even better outfitted in the Mat Bevel Institute.
Organizers Jim Lipson and Jeff Rogers put it like this: "For those who are uninitiated, the dance jam phenomenon is part of a national grass-roots movement to create alternative, all-ages, smoke-free dance clubs that focus on everything from world-beat and tribal to techno and various kinds of ethnic dance music from all over the world, including good old American blues, soul and rock and roll. Music is often augmented with live percussionists who bring various hand drums and rhythm instruments to the jam."
Enough said.
Event runs from 8 p.m. to midnight Saturday, January 24, in the Mat Bevel Institute, 530 N. Stone Ave. Tickets are $5, $4 for KXCI members, and available at the door. For information, call 721-1710.
HEAL THYSELF: What is optimum health? You can bet that Andrew Weil, Tucson's leading pioneer of holistic health, has been asked the question more times than you can shake a sage stick at.
And yes, he does have an answer: "Health is a state of balance...A balance between the body's healing system and whatever outside stresses we come across. Optimum health is much more than just the absence of disease, it's a sense of strength and joy."
A group of doctors, authors, medical directors and fitness experts gather to elaborate on that point when the Tucson Chapter of Hadassah takes up Weil's themes in a seminar entitled Alternatives to Traditional Medicine.
Pamela Davis, medical reporter for KVOA, moderates a topical discussion covering healing foods and vitamins, longevity and exercise. Speakers include Dr. Alexander Cadoux of the Greenspring Wellness Center, UMC Director of Integrative Medicine Tracy Gaudet, M.D.; and Bonnie Prudden, author and physical fitness guru.
Free event begins at 9 a.m. Sunday, January 25, in the UMC DuVal Auditorium, 1501 N. Campbell Ave. For information, call 887-2017.
CULTURAL MYSTERY: Author Rudolfo Anaya is best known for his classic, Bless Me, Ultima. Now, with Jalamanta, A Message From the Desert, the acclaimed writer turns out a rich tale of spirituality and inspiration that's garnered comparisons to The Teachings of Don Juan, and The Celestine Prophecy.
"Rudolfo Anaya takes his rightful place beside Walter Mosley, Tony HIllerman and James Lee Burke as a master of the cultural mystery," says Sandra West Prowell, author of The Killing of Monday Brown.
Anaya reads and signs copies of Jalamanta from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, January 22, at The Book Mark, 5001 E. Speedway. Call 881-6350 for details.

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