This worldwide community develops a feeling of community membership and uses dance and rituals to bring the message of peace.
The Planetary Dance is an annual spring ritual for the cause of peace
among people, and peace with the earth. The ritual is free of charge
and invites people of all ages and physical abilities.
The Earth
Run is at the heart of the Planetary Dance. It is a moving mandala, a
simple circle dance that everyone can do based on walking, running, and
standing still in the four directions. Musicians are drummers who carry
the heart beat and include other musicians and singers who stand in the
center of the three circles
The intention is to dance to give
power to prayers and to make peace and renewal a reality in the lives
of the participants and in the troubled world.
The ritual takes
place out-doors at a site that has special significance to a particular
community. For example, in Marin County, it is done each year on their
mountain called Mt.Tamalpias because that is where the ritual was born.
Twenty six years ago seven women were murdered on her trails by “the
trail-side killer.” For two years the trails were closed and the
community could no longer enjoy the great wild beauty of their sacred
mountain. Anna Halprin decided to design a ritual dance whose intention
was to pray for the reclaiming of the mountain. The killer was caught a
week after the all day and night ritual and ceremonies. Did the dance
have the magical power to answer the people’s prayers or was this
superstition to believe it did. We will never know. From this day on
Anna has offered to do a dance ritual that would address a real life
issue for the community.
It is now called the Planetary Dance
because 36 groups around the world join together to reenact this ritual
choosing a theme that is crucial for their community and tapping into
their collective creativity to discover new ways to make the Planetary
dance meaningful for them.
Anyone wishing to offer the Planetary Dance in their community can contact Anna Halprin through the website below.
