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A circle pit is a term for aggressive dancing associated with moshing performed by people running in a circle usually at Rock music gigs. It is a type of strenuous dancing associated with certain subgenres of music such as ska, punk rock, thrash, heavy metal, and even some harder rock and electronic music, usually started by members of the crowd running wildly in a circle slamming into each other in response to the speed of the music and the beat. The tempo and speed of the music playing also play a big role on how fast and intense the circle pit is; if a blast beat is being played, the mosh pit will be much more intense than a pit danced to, say, a basic rock beat.

A circle pit is a large and usually roughly circular clearing in the audience of a music concert slightly apart from the front of the stage. The circle is formed from the members clearing the space and running in a counterclockwise direction. A circle pit varies from a mosh pit in that a mosh pit usually does not have any sort of orderly behavior: participants in a mosh pit often push, shove and bounce off each other rather than moving in a circle.

A meat grinder is a variation on a circle pit. Dancers form a circle, running counterclockwise. Inside of this is another circle, in which dancers run clockwise. Inside of this is yet another circle of dancers running counterclockwise. In the middle there is small mosh pit, being kept in by the innermost circle. This generally occurs at ska punk, ska-core, hardcore punk, and punk rock concerts.

Fans of different punk, metal or rock styles often have their own rules or characteristics for pits, ranging from relatively friendly to deliberately violent. Originally associated with subcultures, pits have been seen more and more in association with mainstream acts. Typically, circle pits at mainstream concerts are considered to be relatively safe.

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