Banning Bouldin

Nashville native and Juilliard graduate, she began her career as a contemporary dancer working internationally with such companies and choreographers as the Cullberg Ballet, Mats Ek, Aszure Barton, Johan Inger, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Lar Lubovitch, and Jacqulyn Buglisi. In 2012, motivated by her passion to increase awareness of contemporary dance in the southeastern states, Bouldin returned to Nashville and formed New Dialect–a nonprofit contemporary dance collective that hosts year round professional development for artists and community outreach initiatives. As the company’s resident choreographer and artistic director, she has created, directed, and produced numerous dance works for theaters, gallery spaces, and site specific installations. Bouldin has gained national attention for her pioneering efforts in Nashville, resulting in awards and nominations such as the Princess Grace Award, the Margaret Martin Award, the United States Artist Fellowship, the Tennessee Arts Commissions’ Individual Artist Fellowship, SouthArts Momentum touring initiative and others. In addition to her work with New Dialect, Bouldin frequently collaborates with companies and schools across the country to create original works and lead workshops that emphasize self awareness, inclusion, and empowerment. In August 2019 New Dialect was the first dance company from Tennessee to perform at the Jacob’s Pillow in its eighty-plus-year history. They presented The Triangle a work inspired by Bouldin’s own experiences battling and making peace with Multiple Sclerosis. She and New Dialect were able to connect with a number of people living with the disease and their caregivers through the MS Awareness chapter in The Berkshires while at Jacob’s Pillow. During New Dialect’s 2018-2019 season, the company has continued to refine and perform The Triangle in their hometown, Nashville, and are actively making plans to share future performances and outreach with communities in Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Germany.

newdialect.org

This bio/description was originally published in 2019 and updated in 2020. For more current information, please refer to the award recipient's website (if provided).