Circle the Earth

Year Published: 1980

Complete Record: Late 1980s (post 1985) Director/ Editor: Connie Beeson Artistic Director and Choreographer: Anna Halprin 22min optical sound The film opens in the documentary style, recounting the beginning of the “Circle the Earth” dance movement as it grew out of “Circle the Mountain” (a group running along a mountain for healing from a murderer active on the mountain). We see images of large groups of people running and dancing, then images of workshops, in which people are practicing creative dance in a gym and are doing creative expression activities on a lawn. There are close up shots of various participants talking briefly about their reaction to “Circle the Earth.” Much of the later half of the film shows a large workshop inside of a gym, with Anna Halprin leading people in walking, running, dancing, awakening, and in some trashing about, while musicians perform and spectators watch from the bleachers.