SINGAPORE — The Esplanade’s annual da:ns Festival marks its 10th edition in October. And for this special milestone, some of the scene’s most established names are coming out of “retirement” for a show.

Titled Above 40, it will feature THE Dance Company’s husband-and-wife team of artistic director Kuik Swee Boon and associate artistic director Sylvia Yong, former Singapore Dance Theatre resident choreographer Jeffrey Tan and Re: Dance Theatre artistic director Albert Tiong. All four have kept busy running and choreographing for their respective dance companies and other projects, and have not put on their proverbial dancing shoes for a few years now.

“I don’t know what we’ll be presenting just yet, but we are all very excited — but also scared,” quipped the 42-year-old Kuik during a festival preview on Wednesday. He jokingly wondered whether there was still “value” in seeing them dance onstage again. “But we all agree we’ll do our best and enjoy ourselves. We appreciate this opportunity and I’m sure there’s a way of presenting the idea of 40-somethings on stage!”

The show is one of three festival commissions that were announced. The other two are: Impulse, a site-specific work by THE Dance Company resident choreographer Kim Jae Duk, which will take place in four backstage areas including a lift and the basement; and SoftMachine, a work by Choy Ka Fai with artists from India, Indonesia, Japan and China. The festival is also co-producing a first-time collaboration between renowned English choreographer Akram Khan and Israel Galvan from Spain. Titled Torobaka, it blends Indian kathak and Spanish flamenco. A new initiative called da:ns Lab was also announced. The 10-day pre-festival workshop for emerging Singaporean choreographers will be led by independent choreographer Daniel Kok.

The SoftMachine showcase is part of Singaporean artist Choy’s expansive project that began in 2012 and looks at the contemporary dance scene in Asia. He has interviewed 88 dance-makers in 13 cities in five countries and various permutations of the project — including documentary videos and performances — has been staged and exhibited. Inspired by a series in London’s Sadlers Wells that projected Asia as the site of contemporary dance’s future, he began to investigate from within the region. “I was interested in what was happening in Asia,” he said. The performance will combine documentary, interviews and documentary films, and incorporate fictional aspects. It will tour Vienna, Berlin and Zurich, among others, before the performance in Singapore.

The shows are among 23 productions that the festival has commissioned or co-produced from all its 10 editions. Many of these involved Asian artists, which has been an emphasis from the get-go.

“Our programming has always been responding to the needs in developing dance in Singapore, which includes support for Singapore and regional dance artists,” said Faith Tan, a producer for The Esplanade. The support ranges from providing residencies and rehearsal spaces for artists to linking them up with dramaturges as well as working in collaboration with arts centres around the world. The complete line-up will be announced next month.

da:ns Festival 2015 will run from Oct 9 to 18. Tickets are available beginning next month from the Esplanade’s box office and SISTIC. da:ns lab will be held from Aug 12 to 16 and 24 to 28. The closing date for applications is on June 30. For more information on the festival and da:ns lab, visit http://www.dansfestival.com.