This is actually a twofer since Karen Sherman is equally talented as a choreographer and a dancer. But this year we'll praise her moves on stage. The artist, who splits her time between Minneapolis and New York, is agile and fearless, no doubt a result of her training on the trapeze. But she sets herself apart with an ability to explore the quirky, awkward, deliberate, and often obscure moments that occur between the movement phrases. In 2006 Sherman embodied the obsession of an Elvis impersonator in Faker, Morgan Thorson's savvy ode to idol lust. And in her own Tiny Town she ably scanned the emotional pitfalls of heartland life. One minute Sherman may be moving with lyrical ease, the next she punches the air like a rock star—it seems entirely possible that she'll burst into song or stare down the other dancers with her piercing eyes. We're fortunate she chose to plant at least one of her talented feet here.