The American Dance Festival will celebrate 77 years of the best in modern dance by exploring "What is Dance Theater?" from June 10- July 24.

The festival features eight world premieres, one U.S. premiere, two reconstructions, and five ADF debuts. Many of the choreographers represented - Jerome Robbins, Shen Wei, Paul Taylor, RUBBERBANDance Group, Martha Clarke, Pilobolus, Mark Dendy, Inbal Pinto and Avshalom Pollak, Tatiana Baganova, and Rosie Herrea - have created works in both theater and dance with great success.

Here are some highlights:

June 10-12: The 2010 repertory begins with Durham's African American Dance Ensemble. Led by "Baba" Chuck Davis, AADE was born out of the ADF's community outreach program in 1984 and makes its 14th ADF appearance this summer.

June 15-16: Monica Bill Barnes & Co. and Kate Weare Co. will celebrate the complexities of human behavior with a shared program. In a special matinee Monica Bill Barnes & Co. presents an excerpt from "Another Parade" (2009), set to the music of James Brown, Burt Bacharach, and Johann Sebastian Bach. Also on the program, "Bridge of Sighs" (2008) performed by Kate Weare Co.

June 17-19: Israelis Inbal Pinto & Avshalom Pollak Dance Co. will present its 1999 tour de force "Oyster." Based on a short story by filmmaker Tim Burton, late of "Alice in Wonderland" fame, the work explores where fantasy and sideshow spectacle meet.

June 21-23: North Carolina native Mark Dendy and his Dendy Dancetheater present an ADF-commissioned world premiere. Patrons will see the likes of Martha Graham, Nijinsky, and other dance giants portrayed by Dendy and his dancers in this prequel to his 1999 work "Dream Analysis."

June 24-26: The extraordinary dancers of Canadian company RUBBERBANDance Group present "Loan Sharking" (2008), created by artistic director Victor Quijada and scrambling hip-hop with theories that evolved out of Quijada's experiences in various dance forms.

June 28-30: Eiko & Koma will present a retrospective of their most timeless dances, including "Raven;" "Night Tide," commissioned by the ADF in 1984 in celebration of the festival's 50th anniversary; and "White Dance," Eiko & Koma's 1976 American debut.

July 1-3: Pilobolus presents an ADF co-commissioned collaboration with Pulitzer Prize-winning artist/illustrator and comics guru Art Spiegelman of The New Yorker. In addition, Pilobolus will present a world premiere collaboration with children's rock star Dan Zanes, their first work created specifically for families. A festival favorite, Pilobolus will also offer a children's Saturday matinee July 3.

July 5-7: Director, choreographer and 2010 Scripps/ADF Award recipient Martha Clarke collaborates with Pulitzer-, Tony- and Academy Award-winning writer Alfred Uhry ("Driving Miss Daisy") on a highly anticipated work based on the Shakers. The work will weave movement, song, and dance to present the contradiction between the prudery of Shaker tenets and the sexual nature they suppressed.

July 8-10: Argentina-based Brenda Angiel Aerial Dance Co. presents a sensational exploration of space, flying and movement, both onstage and above. Celebrating its North American premiere, "8cho" (2010) includes expertly choreographed milongas, tangos and sensuous waltzes. Accompanied by a live band and vocalist, Angiel's choreography will be the talk of the town, even among young people who can enjoy a children's Saturday matinee July 10.

July 12-14: Rosie Herrera's Miami-based company present last year's Past/Forward hit, "Various Stages of Drowning: A Cabaret" (2009). At once campy and poignant, Drowning recreates dream states using dance, theater, cabaret and film.

July 15-17: Paul Taylor Dance Co. revisits timeless works from the Taylor repertory in two programs, in addition to a world premiere celebrating Taylor's 80th birthday. The company will also offer a children's Saturday matinee on July 17. Several special events are planned to celebrate Taylor's birthday and his presence at the ADF this summer. A screening of the Academy Award-nominated documentary "Dancemaker" will take place July 14. In addition, a discussion between ADF Director Charles L. Reinhart and Paul Taylor will take place July 16. The screening and discussion are free and open to the public and will both occur on Duke University's East Campus.

July 19-21: Street energy explodes as the work of an entertainment titan comes alive. Ryan Ghysels will set the late Jerome Robbins' legendary "West Side Story Suite" (1995) on ADF dancers. Also on the program, longtime Merce Cunningham Dance Co. member Jean Freebury reconstructs the late artist's "Inlets 2" (1983), a serene work set to a score by John Cage. Russian choreographer Tatiana Baganova rounds out the program.

July 22-24: Celebrating the 10th anniversary of this internationally acclaimed company, Shen Wei Dance Arts will present two programs for ADF audiences. Performed for two evenings, Program A will feature "Re (Part III)" (2009) and "Folding" (2000). Program B will feature "Rite of Spring" (2003) and "Near the Terrace - Part I" (2000).