Kennedy Center names new director of dance programming, days after former staff firings

A choreographer and former dancer with The Washington Ballet, Stephen Nakagawa, has been named the new head of the Kennedy Center’s dance programming, days after the entire staff of the renowned performing arts institution’s dance department was fired.

In a press statement sent to NPR on Monday, the president of the Kennedy Center, Richard Grenell, said: “Stephen is a celebrated ballerino who has been trained by world-renowned artistic directors and was a company dancer right here in Washington, D.C. with The Washington Ballet. Stephen is passionate about Dance education and finding ways to reach new audiences.”

Neither Nakagawa’s online professional biography nor the one sent as part of the Kennedy Center’s announcement mentions any relevant experience he may have as a curator or as an arts administrator. It is unusual for someone without that kind of experience to ascend to a management position at such a high-profile organization.

The Kennedy Center is one of the nation’s largest performing arts institutions, and earlier this year, it requested a large boost in its funding from Congress to more than $250 million. The new funding request passed last month as part of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” but Senate Republicans voted to delay the substantial funding increases unless the center’s opera house is renamed for First Lady Melania Trump.

In Monday’s statement, Nakagawa said: “It is a tremendous honor to join the Kennedy Center at such a pivotal moment for the performing arts. The arts have always been at the heart of my life. I am eager to help inspire and uplift audiences, while ensuring dance continues to thrive as a vibrant and essential part of our culture and community.”

Nakagawa’s predecessor, Jane Raleigh, sent NPR a statement on Friday in which she accused the Kennedy Center of dismissing her in a retaliatory move for her support of a union organizing campaign earlier this year. She wrote: “From the beginning, I have been supportive of this effort as the staff were fighting to maintain the trust we have with our artists and audiences, maintain our free speech and artistic integrity, and maintain our ability to do the work we are committed to day in and day out.”

“While I was told my dismissal was due to a ‘loss of confidence in my leadership,'” Raleigh’s statement continued, “I believe this firing to be in retaliation for my public support of the ongoing union organization drive at the Center.”