Summer Dance Celebration to Have a 75th Anniversary

The American Dance Festival — an international celebration of modern dance — takes place every summer on the campus of Duke University in Durham, N.C. This year, from June 5 to July 19, it will have its 75th anniversary. The festival got its start in Vermont in the 1930s with the Bennington School of Dance, created by choreographers like Martha Graham and Doris Humphrey who wanted to develop a laboratory environment for their dancers. Now the festival brings together more than 400 students and 50 faculty members from all over the world, in addition to dozens of world-renowned dance companies. This year, the festival will feature multiple dance companies on the same bill, giving audiences the opportunity to see two or three different styles of dance on the same night. Confirmed American companies include Pilobolus, right, Shen Wei Dance Arts and Paul Taylor Dance Company. Other countries represented will include Japan, Turkey and the Netherlands (www.americandancefestival.org).