The Ohio State University Department of Dance is pleased to announce that Alfonso Cervera, assistant professor of dance, has been selected as a 2026 California Arts Council Established Artist Fellow through the California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship program, administered in Los Angeles County by Los Angeles Performance Practice. 

The fellowship program recognizes outstanding artists and culture bearers across California whose creative work, artistic excellence and community impact contribute to the state's vibrant cultural landscape. Cervera was named among just 32 Established Artist Fellows selected for the 2026-2027 cohort, which also includes 66 Emerging Artist Fellows and three Legacy Artist Fellows. 

According to Los Angeles Performance Practice, this year's program will distribute $800,000 in unrestricted funding to 101 Los Angeles County artists and culture bearers. Fellows were chosen through a competitive peer-review process from 1,226 applications, representing all five Los Angeles County Supervisorial Districts and a wide range of artistic disciplines. More than three-quarters of the fellows identified their practices as interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary. 

An unrestricted fellowship provides artists with flexibility to invest directly in their creative research, artistic development and community-engaged work. Reflecting on the recognition, Cervera expressed gratitude to the California Arts Council and Los Angeles Performance Practice for supporting artists and culture bearers throughout the region. 

Cervera's creative scholarship explores the intersections of queerness, Ballet Folklórico and Afro-Latine social dances through contemporary performance and choreography. A first-generation Queer Mexican American performer, educator, curator and activist, Cervera developed the movement methodology Poc-Chuc, an inclusive dance practice rooted in cultural memory, community engagement and embodied storytelling. At Ohio State, their teaching and research emphasize choreography, performance and movement practice while fostering collaborative artistic inquiry. 

The Department of Dance congratulates Cervera on this prestigious honor and celebrates the continued national recognition of the innovative artistic research and creative practice taking place within our community.