The Utah Summer Dance Festival returns Saturday, August 15, bringing a full day of live music and dance performance to the South Salt Lake Community Center, with doors opening at 10:30 a.m. and programming running from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The event, held at 2531 S.400 East, has built a reputation over the years for showcasing an unusually broad range of dance styles. While the festival’s roots lie in traditional and fusion forms of Middle Eastern dance and Eastern European folk dance, organizers keep an open call each year for professional and student troupes performing all genres. Past festivals have featured performers representing more than 20 nations, organizers said, making the event one of the more culturally diverse dance showcases in the region.

“We showcase dances from all over the world in order to create a diverse, multicultural event, bringing communities and cultures together,” organizers said in event materials.

In addition to the Saturday performances, the festival is expanding its workshop offerings this year with an intensive, pick-your-own-adventure format spread across two days — Friday, August 14, and Sunday, August 16 — at Desert Journey School of Dance, 1367 S. Major Street in Salt Lake City.

The Friday session is a three-hour Drum Dance workshop led by Angelia, an instructor with Desert Journey who has performed Egyptian Cabaret-style belly dance since 1998. Participants will learn a drum choreography incorporating isolations, traveling steps and contemporary-jazz influences, with the option to perform the piece on stage at Saturday’s festival.

Sunday offers three 90-minute sessions:

• Contemporary/Modern Dance, taught by Ricci Phillips Galvan, owner and director of The Movement Dance Center, focusing on technique that crosses over between dance styles.
• The Neuroscience of Dance in Storytelling, led by Jenny C. Cohen, who performs under the name Aaliyah Jenny. Cohen holds a master’s degree in occupational therapy from Boston University and is board-certified in integrative neurosomatic practice; the session examines how understanding neuroscience can sharpen both teaching and performance.
• Guinea West African Dance, taught by Rosie Banchero of WOFA Dance SLC, danced to live drumming. Banchero holds a B.F.A. in modern dance from the University of Utah and has studied African movement and music abroad.

Workshop pricing runs $70 for the Friday session and $40 per Sunday session, with discounts for multiple sessions. Organizers are encouraging fee-free payment through Venmo, PayPal (direct) or Zelle, in addition to standard credit card processing and cash options.

Saturday’s festival will also feature a vendor marketplace alongside the performances, with goods ranging from performance accessories to self-care products. Those interested in performing or selling as vendors can register through the festival’s website at utahsummerdancefestival.org

Organizers are also recruiting volunteers to help run the event and are accepting sponsorship and advertising inquiries, along with tax-deductible donations to support the performing arts programming. Sponsorship and advertising inquiries can be directed to utsummerfestival@gmail.com.

Dancer registration, vendor registration, and workshop sign-ups are available now through utahsummerdancefestival.org.