The California Arts Council has officially announced the recipients of the 2026 California Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship.
Han Xue, Director of the Chinese Dance Company of Southern California (CDCSC), has been selected as an Emerging Artist Fellow in recognition of her long-standing work in Chinese dance education, artistic creation, and cultural preservation. She will also receive $5,000 in unrestricted funding to support her artistic practice.
According to publicly available records of previous recipients, Han Xue is believed to be the first Chinese dance artist to receive this honor.
The recognition not only affirms her artistic practice, professional achievements, and potential for continued growth, but also highlights the growing recognition of Chinese dance as an art form with deep cultural roots and contemporary vitality within California’s public arts funding and professional arts community.
A Statewide Honor
The California Arts Council is the state-level arts agency established by the State of California.
Since its founding in 1976, the Council has provided public funding to support artists, cultural organizations, and community-based arts programs in areas including arts education, cultural preservation, community development, traditional arts, and contemporary artistic creation.
The year 2026 marks the California Arts Council’s 50th anniversary.
For five decades, its public arts funding programs have supported artists and cultural practitioners from diverse cultural backgrounds, artistic disciplines, and communities, reflecting California’s long-standing commitment to the arts, cultural preservation, and community cultural development.
The Individual Artist Fellowship was relaunched in a new tiered format in 2021 to provide direct support to California artists at different stages of their careers.
The program recognizes not only artistic achievement and creative practice, but also artists’ roles in preserving cultural traditions, advancing contemporary expression, and serving diverse communities.
Unlike grants designated for a specific project, the fellowship provides unrestricted funding, allowing recipients to use the support according to their artistic and professional needs.
Funds may support creative research, professional development, production, rehearsals and performances, archival work, or other activities that contribute to an artist’s practice.
This approach reflects the granting organization’s trust in artists’ professional judgment and long-term artistic direction.
Standing Out
Han Xue was selected through the California Arts Council’s Region 7, which includes Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties.
A total of 328 artists applied, with 54 ultimately selected as fellows.
Recipients were chosen through a peer-review process involving artists, arts administrators, arts educators, and arts funding professionals.
Applications were evaluated based on artistic practice, professional achievement, artistic potential, cultural contribution, and community impact.
The regional selection and grant administration for Region 7 is led by Arts Orange County, in partnership with the Riverside Arts Council and Arts Connection of San Bernardino County.
The Individual Artist Fellowship recognizes artists working across a wide range of disciplines, including dance, music, theater, visual arts, literature, traditional arts, and interdisciplinary practices.
The program reflects California’s commitment to supporting diverse artistic traditions, cultural expressions, and community experiences.
Preserving Tradition
As Director of the Chinese Dance Company of Southern California, Han Xue has devoted years to Chinese dance education, choreography, performance, and community outreach.
CDCSC was founded in 2019 through a joint initiative of the South Coast Chinese Cultural Center and the Pan America Chinese Dance Alliance (PACDA).
The company provides dance enthusiasts throughout Southern California with opportunities for learning, cultural exchange, and performance, using traditional dance and original works to tell stories of Chinese culture and promote the preservation and development of Chinese dance within American communities.
The South Coast Chinese Cultural Center (SCCCA) is dedicated to preserving Chinese culture, enriching community life, and promoting intercultural exchange.
Through its cultural center and related arts programs, SCCCA provides opportunities for learning, artistic practice, and public presentation in Chinese cultural arts, including Chinese dance, creating a platform for artists, students, and community members to engage with Chinese culture.
Over the years, Han Xue has not only focused on developing young dancers, but has also explored how Chinese dance can preserve its cultural meaning within a multicultural environment overseas, creating new connections between traditional art, contemporary stages, younger generations, and local communities.
Chinese dance embodies historical memory, physical language, ethnic traditions, and aesthetic values.
Han Xue’s fellowship recognition represents professional acknowledgment of her long-standing artistic practice through a peer-review process spanning multiple artistic disciplines.
It also further highlights the cultural value and potential of Chinese dance within California’s diverse artistic landscape.
Creating Connection
For Chinese dance artists working outside China, cultural preservation means more than maintaining traditional forms.
It also involves finding meaningful ways for Chinese culture to be understood, appreciated, and experienced within new social and cultural environments.
Han Xue has consistently explored dance education and artistic creation from a foundation in Chinese culture, while seeking contemporary ways to express traditional values.
Through performances, teaching, and community arts programs, Chinese dance serves not only as an important vehicle for cultural preservation within Chinese American communities, but also as an artistic language capable of connecting audiences across cultural backgrounds.
This fellowship is an important recognition of Han Xue’s artistic journey and represents broader professional recognition for Chinese dance practice overseas.
It demonstrates that Chinese dance can serve as both a carrier of cultural tradition and a participant in contemporary artistic dialogue, community engagement, and new forms of creative expression.
Looking Ahead
The Emerging Artist Fellowship will provide Han Xue with additional support for future artistic exploration and creative work.
She shared that the recognition is both an honor and an encouragement to continue moving forward.
Han Xue said:
“I am deeply honored to receive the Individual Artist Fellowship from the California Arts Council.
This state-supported fellowship not only recognizes an artist’s originality, but also values cultural preservation, artistic contribution, and community impact.
For me, this recognition is both an honor and an inspiration to continue moving forward.
I am especially grateful to the dancers of the Chinese Dance Company of Southern California, as well as the teachers and colleagues who have supported me throughout this journey.
Good artistic work comes to life through talented dancers, and it also depends on a professional team built on trust and mutual support.
I am especially grateful to my mentor, Mr. Pan Zhi Tao, for his continued support and guidance. Looking back on this journey, I have come to understand more deeply that I am simply continuing to explore from the shoulders of the giants of Chinese dance who came before me.
I have always believed that when we respect and understand culture, and create from the foundation of Chinese culture, Chinese dance can move beyond language and ethnicity.
It can touch not only Chinese audiences, but also be understood,
From preserving cultural traditions to exploring contemporary artistic expression, and from serving Chinese American communities to participating in California’s diverse arts ecosystem, this fellowship marks an important milestone in Han Xue’s artistic journey and provides new momentum for the continued development of Chinese dance overseas.
Looking ahead, we hope Han Xue will continue to use dance as a medium and Chinese culture as her foundation, bringing together tradition and innovation, cultural exchange and artistic development.
Through increasingly diverse works and contemporary artistic expression, she will help Chinese dance reach broader audiences and create new opportunities for people from different cultural backgrounds to see, understand, and appreciate this rich artistic tradition.
Congratulations to Han Xue on this well-deserved honor!