Traditional dances from around the world that express a particular cultural or national identity are the root forms of all stylized dance and the formal lexicon. It's exciting to see these dances undiluted, and that is why exhibitions like Dance Happens Here, part of the Philadelphia Folklore Project, are so vital. Three local troupes bring this artistry to the cool Arts Bank dance stage, kicking off the summer festival season.

Tap master Germaine Ingram carries on the great legacy of her mentor, legendary Philadelphia tapper LaVaughan Robinson. Ingram doesn't consider herself a traditionalist. "The more we try to label tap, it doesn't honor what tap is, especially the way I learned it," she said last week. "There isn't a canon in tap and today there is a lot of tap that relies on step tricks, but is lacking in musicality. Tap needs to be musical and sing its own songs."

Ingram is joined by fellow hoofers Ali Bradley, Rochelle Haynes and Corrine Karon for tap accompaniment with Tyrone W. Brown and his eight-piece ensemble to perform Brown's composition "Suite for John A. Williams," a musical tribute to the black poet and author. "Each dancer brings a different sensibility and an improvisational feel that will honor the music. Tyrone's composition has an elegant spareness and I don't want to overwhelm that with tap choreography," Ingram said.

Thavro Phim and the Amatak Ensemble will dance the sacred rituals of "Lakhon Kohl," so named for Cambodian all-male temple and martial arts dances with elaborate masks and costumes (the dancers are literally sewn into them for each performance). Phim, who now lives in Philadelphia, and his dancers studied at the Royal University of Fine Arts in Cambodia and reconstruct this movement artistry for the first time for Philly audiences. Phim's troupe were among the first dancers to train in Cambodia after a generation of artists perished in the Cambodian killing fields in the 1970s.

Rounding out the evening is Kulu Mele African American Dance Ensemble (pictured), the city's premier company performing authentic and thrilling West African and Afro-Caribbean dance and music.