Right On (Ceremony of Us)

This film documents the first days of rehearsal for the performance Ceremony of Us, a collaboration between Anna Halprin and Studio Watts, which took place at the Mark Taper Theatre in Los Angeles in 1969, and for which no final performance film exists. Anna Halprin simultaneously developed two companies, one in San Francisco of all white dancers, and another in Watts of all black dancers. After working separately for weeks the two groups came together to develop a highly controversial and politically groundbreaking performance. In a rehearsal process that was 'not so much a dance as a lived experiment', the two groups of dancers were led in experiences that both elicited and challenged racial stereotypes, creating a space where political and personal anger and despair could be expressed and where reconciliation could be envisioned. The process included extensive group and partnering processes, utilizing movement, speech, emotional and perceptual exploration.