If you’re sweatin’ through summer in the city, be grateful for Lincoln Center. From July 12 to July 31, the performing arts campus is home to the richly varied Lincoln Center Festival, which will include 57 performances of dance, opera, theater, puppetry, and even a little hip-hop.

The dance lineup includes works from familiar choreographers, like Merce Cunningham and Shen Wei. But this festival will also offer audiences a rare chance to see the dance, music, and theatrical arts of Indonesia – from the small scale to the epic.

On the intimate side, there is Indonesian dancer and choreographer Mugiyono Kasido, a trained Javanese court dancer who created a contemporary style all his own. The program will include two solos, “Kabar Kabur” (“Rumors”) and “Bagaspati” (“From the Sun’s Soul”), performed at the Clark Studio Theater in the Rose Building (165 West 65th Street, 7th floor) from July 18 to July 20.

“Kabar Kabur” is performed on a tiny stage, which Mr. Mugiyono fills with a slow fight against his own body. As he twists and knots himself, he produces a dance that makes a comment on society. Things are more placid in “Bagaspati,” which incorporates traditional mask dance and his own careful, slow movements.

While Mr. Mugiyono’s solos create a delicate atmosphere, the scope of “I La Galigo” is far, far more broad. This work of music-theater (with dance and poetry woven in, too) was inspired by “Sureq Galigo,” an epic poem and creation myth from Indonesia.

“It’s a wonderful epic story about gods and man and love,” said documentary filmmaker Rhoda Grauer, who encountered the poem while working on a film project about dance around the world.

The project took her to the Sulawesi Islands of Indonesia, where she researched the pre-Islamic religion of the region, which is based on the 6,000-page poem. During her work, interested parties continually asked her to do something with the epic. “There are very few people who can read it and understand it,” said Ms. Grauer.

Motivated by the need to preserve and share this work with the rest of the world, Ms. Grauer brought the idea to director Robert Wilson, who was immediately eager to craft a stage version. The result is the three-hour “I La Galigo,” which includes 50 dancers, martial artists, and musicians who describe the creation of Earth, its creatures, and gods that ruled over the first six generations of humanity.

The text – believed to have been written sometime between the 14th and 17th centuries – is presented by chanted song in the original language, with English subtitles. Dance and movement contribute to a visual retelling of the story, while onstage musicians play traditional instruments of South Sulawesi Island.

If you’re planning to catch this performance, take note: there is no intermission. So before you go have a snack and get ready to settle in and learn about another world.

“I La Galigo” will be performed at the New York State Theater from July 13 to July 16. And if you fall in love with the sounds, you can catch Rahayu Supanggah – the music director of “I La Galigo” – in concert on July 17 at the Clark Studio in the Rose Building (165 West 65th Street). The concert will feature contemporary Indonesian music performed by the musicians from “I La Galigo.”

***

In ballet company news, American Ballet Theatre promoted Michele Wiles to principal dancer last week. It was a much-deserved, well-timed promotion. Ms. Wiles has been dancing principal roles for some time, and she has done so with a bright combination of technique and personality.

Warm and rounded, rather than meticulous and sharp, Ms. Wiles dances with a fun, adventurous spirit. And she excels in roles that allow her to unleash that spirit. Performing the title role in “Sylvia,” she demonstrated clear mime and engaging acting skills. At times her execution of the silken, intricately woven steps was jerky, but she dug into the broad strokes with majesty. As Medora in “Le Corsaire,” she used her plucky personality to make the role something more than just that of resident glamour-girl. When necessary, though, she can limit the smiling, joyful style for more spare contemporary choreography, which she handles with aplomb.

Ms. Wiles received her early training at the Kirov Academy in Washington, D.C., and joined ABT’s studio company in 1997. After joining the main company in 1998, she was promoted to soloist in 2000.

***

Many books cross my desk, and few are worth the trees that died for them. But I was most pleased when I took a chance on “Britten and Barber: Their Lives and Their Music” by Daniel Felsenfeld (Amadeus Press, $22.95). Written for the classical-music novice, this slim volume comes with a CD and a completely unpretentious guide to listening to the 13 tracks. The biographical sketches and essays are simply written and easy to breeze through.

For dance-goers, the book may be of interest because choreographers use Barber’s Adagio for Strings as if it’s going out of style. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that “everybody” uses it. Why is it so popular? The reason has something to do with the fact that, as Mr. Felsenfeld writes, the piece is a “work of raw emotion from start to finish and makes no bones about it.” Choreographers can’t help but try to match that musical feeling with dance.

But there’s much more to learn about Barber and Britten from this book. Perhaps the best nugget, though, is this description of how to listen to music: “The sort of active listening that is needed is what is required of a reader of the average mystery novel: involved, engaged, wanting to understand, and not necessarily technically fluent. The same way you might follow the aims and ambitions of the characters or the intentionally confusing and trap-laden plot twists of a Simenon or Agatha Christie novel, you might also follow the edges, flashpoints, and exciting turns of a composition.”

If you can become that engaged with music, then “getting” dance becomes a piece of cake.