Best Dancer

Banning Bouldin, a Nashville-bred (and Juilliard-trained) phenomenon, is the real deal — a strikingly original artist who’s equally gifted as both a dancer and choreographer. Lithe and lovely, Bouldin always moves with grace, taste and heartfelt expression. As founder of New Dialect, Nashville’s premiere contemporary dance ensemble, she’s introducing a new generation to her technique. And in the process, she’s turning her own vast choreographic vocabulary into a universal language of movement.