Acia Gray Credit: Photo courtesy of Tapestry Dance Company

1) ACIA GRAY Tap has been listening to us for almost two centuries. Now we need to listen back.

2) JENNIFER HART Ballet’s not dead, and neither is romance.

3) JENNIFER SHERBURN A reminder to keep moving: Her series of 11 performances in as many months continues into the new year.

4) JULIE NATHANIELSZ Look to her for worldview – she’ll be returning from Fulbright study in Indonesia.

5) KATHY DUNN HAMRICK When discourse is broken, meaningful abstract work is where it’s at.

6) LISA DEL ROSARIO So much complexity in one dancer – kind of like everything, but nothing like her.

7) MAGDALENA JARKOWIEC Fresh, zany performances and hand-stitched perspectives.

8) SALLY JACQUES For hope in social justice, look up to her superterrestrial dances.

9) SHARON MARROQUÍN For catharsis: a spring work about death and rebirth, through her Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center residency.

10) STEPHEN MILLS For respite in fairy tales: Ballet Austin will reprise his The Magic Flute and Belle Redux: A Tale of Beauty and the Beast this spring.

Top 10 Brave Austin Dance Artists to Cling to as We Gingerly Step Beyond 2016

A version of this article appeared in print on Dec 30, 2016 with the headline: Top 10 Brave Austin Dance Artists to Cling to as We Gingerly Step Beyond 2016

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

Jonelle Seitz writes about dance and performance.