The Artist

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Alvin Rangel (he/him/él) is a Puerto Rico–born performer, choreographer, and educator with more than 30 years of international experience across concert dance, higher education, and artist development. His work is rooted in contemporary and modern dance, informed by ballet and jazz training, and shaped by a commitment to cultural exchange, craft, and mentorship.

He is a Professor of Dance at California State University, Fullerton, where he teaches and researches dance composition, Afro-Puerto Rican music and dance, contemporary dance, pedagogy, Horton technique, Afro-contemporary practice, African American concert dance, and yoga. Since 2018, he has also been a Visiting Professor at NAISDA Dance College—Australia’s premier Indigenous training institution—teaching Horton Technique and supporting the development of emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. In Australia, he has additionally taught for Sydney Dance Company’s Pre-Professional Program and the Academy of Music and Performing Arts (AMPA). His workshops and teaching have taken him throughout the United States and internationally, including Russia, Taiwan, Poland, Colombia, Guatemala, Argentina, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.

As a performer, Rangel is widely recognized for his nearly decade-long tenure with the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company (DCDC), where he performed and originated roles in works by leading choreographers including Bill T. Jones, Bebe Miller, Dwight Rhoden, Donald McKayle, Ronald K. Brown, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Kevin Ward, and Doug Varone, among others. His performances with DCDC have been featured in the PBS documentary Free to Dance and the American Dance Festival film Dancing in the Light. In 2001, he received the Josie Award for Best Male Concert Dancer. Additional performance credits include Andanza: Compañía Puertorriqueña de Danza Contemporánea, Ad Deum Dance Company, and Dance Theatre X. He has worked with choreographers including Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Charles O. Anderson, Rodney Rivera, and Lolita Villanúa.

Rangel has appeared on major stages including Lincoln Center and performed Donald McKayle’s iconic Rainbow ’Round My Shoulder with DCDC during the Paul Taylor American Modern Dance Company seasons (2016, 2019), with DCDC receiving the Bessie Award for Outstanding Revival (2016).

His choreographic project Tango Vesre (Inverted Tango) has received international recognition for its exploration of identity, gender, and the politics of intimacy. The work has been presented at the Kuandu Arts Festival (Taipei), the Fresh Fruit Festival (New York City), where it received the Fruit of Distinction Award, and the VII International Queer Tango Festival (Buenos Aires). Tango Vesre also earned nominations from the Austin Critics’ Table Awards for Best Short Work and Best Dancer.

His choreography has been presented in the United States, Mexico, Australia, and Puerto Rico.

Rangel holds a B.A. in Secondary Education (English as a Second Language) from the Inter American University of Puerto Rico and an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Texas at Austin. A dedicated yoga practitioner, he is a Registered Yoga Teacher (RYT) with Yoga Alliance and completed his training in India.