Summer is about food, fun and community. Even though there are Lollapolooza, Taste of Chicago, Jazz Fest, Rib Fest, Bacon Fest, BBQ Fest, Midsommerfest and Pride, dance is not immune to Chicagoans' need for summertime congregation—and with performances going on all across the city, indoors and out, there is no time like the present to see dance.

—Running Aug. 25-29, the Chicago Dancing Festival returns for its ninth year, and will include many of the usual suspects with some exciting new additions. First timers include Miami City Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, New York City's Ballet Hispanico and Lori Belilove, plus the Chicago debut of Brooklyn-based Kate Weare Dance Company. The festival has been scaled back for a couple years, and this year returns to a full five days of programming.

The Aug. 26 performance at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Ave., features a great line-up of women choreographers with everything from Isadora Duncan Dance Company and Martha Graham Dance Company to Pam Tanowitz Dance and Crystal Pite ( performed by Hubbard Street Dance Chicago ). Tickets for Aug. 25-28 are first-come-first-served as in previous years, with the release happening July 9 and 10 at venue box offices or by phone. As always, tickets are free, with the Aug. 28 program followed by a ticketed gala, the proceeds of which benefit the festival and allow it to continue offering free performances annually from some of the world's premiere dance companies. Aug. 29 is the finale performance at Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. Tickets are not required for Saturday's finale. More details about the Festival, including tickets, will be available early in June at chicagodancingfestival.com.

—If you don't want to venture downtown, Dance in the Parks ( DIP ) is back July 15-Aug. 9 at a wide variety of neighborhood park districts. Company founder, director, and fearless leader Katie McCann takes a portable stage and her nine dancers to every corner of the city for performances featuring an impressive lineup of choreographers that includes Peter Carpenter, Emily Stein, Cheryl Mann and Autumn Eckman.

With a mission of bringing good, free dance to everyone, each performance is the same program, with the exception of a youth dance group, often based in the neighborhood of the evening. Performances take place throughout the week and some weekends. Tickets are not needed—just show up with a blanket and a picnic ( chairs are provided for the performance ). Many parks have alternative indoor locations in case of inclement weather. Specific park locations and times are available at danceintheparks.org .

—Save the date for the annual Dance for Life gala and performance on Saturday, Aug. 15. This year's performance includes appearances by Giordano Dance Chicago, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, the Joffrey Ballet, River North Dance Chicago, Chicago Human Rhythm Project, Same Planet Different World, a world premiere from Jeremy Plummer's contemporary/aerial dance company C5, and a special presentation of Randy Duncan's acclaimed "Stand by Me."

Tickets to the gala at Hilton Chicago's Grand Ballroom are $250-600, with the performance following at the Auditorium Theatre of Roosevelt University, 50 E. Congress Pkwy. Tickets may be purchased for the performance only, ranging from $15-75 and available at danceforlifechicago.org .

—The Ruth Page Center for the Performing Arts, 1016 N. Dearborn St., is host to Aerial Dance Chicago ( ADC ) for two weekends: June 12-13 and 27-28. ADC's two matriarchs, Creative Director Chloe Jensen and Artistic Director Karen Fisher Doyle, will debut new works. Jensen's "Within Reach" is an aerial dance that uses no rigging, putting the dancers' athleticism on display using wooden polls to launch them airborne. aerialdancechicago.org .

—Thodos Dance Chicago ( TDC ) moves "New Dances" to the Athenaeum Theatre, 2936 N. Southport Ave., to celebrate its 15th anniversary. Artistic Director Melissa Thodos inherited the New Dances project from Chicago Repertory Dance Ensemble, who began presenting new works from its members ( which included Thodos ) in the 1980s. In addition to being Chicago's oldest in-house choreography series, Thodos proudly contends it's also the city's most supportive in terms of time and resources dedicated to fostering the choreographic and production skills among her ensemble. To date, Thodos' New Dances has yielded 132 world premieres from 73 Chicago-based choreographers. ThodosDanceChicago.org .

—The Salts, presented by The Inconvenience, continues its wild and fun tribute to beer, love, dance, and rock and roll for a second weekend at the Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., on May 28-30. Conceived by Erin Kilmurray and Molly Brennan, The Salts features a different band at each performance, so you might as well go more than once. For tickets and details, visit theinconvenience.org .

Celebrating its fifth season, dropshift dance presents "Imposter/Contained" May 29-31 at Links Hall, 3111 N. Western Ave. dropshift's Artistic Director Andrea Cerniglia continues to hone her strong choreographic voice and affinity for multimedia, immersive performances. Visit linkshall.org for tickets and additional information .

The Cambrians ( formerly The Nexus Project ) will offer two world premieres during a long run June 5-28 at Preston Bradley Center, 941 W. Lawrence Ave. The evening features a new iteration of The Nexus Project performed by Autumn Eckman and Jamy Meek and a power trio for Benjamin Wardell, Michel Rodriguez Cintra and Melinda Jean Myers titled "Clover." The works are shown on split evenings, so you have to attend twice to see both, however The Cambrians recommend "double feature Saturdays" to see both performances on the same day. Tickets are pay-what-you-can, reserved through thecambrians.eventbrite.com .

—Hubbard Street Dance Chicago ( HSDC ) closes its season with the Summer Series June 11-14 at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance, 205 E. Randolph St., with a program entirely devoted to the work of resident choreographer Alejandro Cerrudo. In addition to a world premiere, the program will feature Cerrudo gems like "Extremely Close" and "Little Mortal Jump." Tickets start at $25, available at hubbardstreetdance.com .