About Us Stephanie Buffington I began traveling the world when I worked for ABC television show "The Dating Game" escorting the winners all over the world. I made sure all the arrangements went according to the itinerary and that the contestant’s trip was a flawless fantasy no matter what the circumstances or problems that came up. And just about anything that could happen did. It was a first hand and highly eventful initiation to world travel. I was a “Chaperone” or trip coordinator on over fifty shows and went on to personally travel to over 45 different countries. Some years later I wrote about my adventures in my first published book that was later made into a movie of the week for television. Decades ago now, I left that job to follow a passion for adventure in the world's tribal cultures and set out on a year long overland journey from Europe to India with a small group of friends. Playing drums and dancing with Kutchi tribes people in the deserts of Afghanistan and with the nomads of the Kyber Pass awakened a deep appreciation and recognition of Oneness for me. I experienced and understood how the vast differences of culture, race and religion could be traversed through the powerful, universal language of rhythm and dance in ceremony. Tribal Music Tours was formed in the mid 1990’s, after visiting the World Sacred Music Festival in Fez with a group. TMT tours hosted travelers to meet and play with the various Berber and Sufi tribes of North Africa. After learning the rhythms, rites and rituals, we were allowed to participate in their trance dance ceremonies from the medina of Fez, across the High Atlas Mountains to the deserts of the Sahara. Unfortunately, these trips to Arab countries were suspended after 9/11. No matter what, I have always tried to return to Bali once or twice a year since my first visit in 1980. To me it is the colorful heart of pure ceremonial culture and a paradise on earth. Today, and for the last ten years, I have hosted and facilitated The Sacred Rhythm Lodge and co-facilated the Agape Drum Ministry here in the Southern California with Christine Stevens. It is my continuing pleasure to combine all the best of these experiences to create more Tribal Music Tours adventures. Taking yourself out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary, from the familiar to the unknown can shift and expand a persons awareness almost instantly. To experience our planets peoples as a global village through rhythm and ceremony can reconnect us with what is ancient and eternal inside ourselves like no other experience can. This is why I travel and this is what I hope to share with you. Christine Stevens ~ Guest Facilitator Christine Stevens is a modern day troubadour who introduces people all over the world to musical expression in the form of drum circles. Through her company UpBeat Drum Circles, Christine offers programs for corporate teambuilding, diversity training, and personal growth seminars. A featured speaker, Christine is equally at home in the middle of a 1,000-person drum circle or on the podium addressing thousands of professionals. As Director of Music Therapy and Wellness Programs at Remo Drum Company, Christine has led music and wellness seminars in England, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, Taiwan, and the United States. Based in Los Angeles, UpBeat Drum Circles is a visionary consulting company that incorporates drumming into diversity training, corporate teambuilding, health & wellness presentations and events.
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