Appointment comes amid firings, resignations under the Trump Administration.
WASHINGTON.–The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts has announced the appointment of Stephen Nakagawa as its new director of dance programming.
The appointment is part of an ongoing staff shakeup at the Kennedy Center. The previous dance director, Jane Raleigh, who had been with the center for 12 years,
was let go along with assistant managers Mallory Miller and Malik Burnett.
Deborah Rutter, who had been the center’s president since 2014, was replaced with diplomat and former public relations consultant Richard Grenell.
“While I was told my dismissal was due to a ‘loss of confidence in my leadership,’ I know this firing to be in retaliation for my public support of the ongoing union organization drive at the center,” Raleigh said in a Facebook post.
Long-time Vice President and Executive Producer of Theater Jeffrey Finn has also stepped down.
The new board elected President Trump as board chair, replacing David M. Rubenstein. Trump last month announced the recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors, bypassing the normally months-long and bipartisan selection process. He said that he had vetoed some possible honorees because they are “wokesters.”
Trump has also discussed the possibility of renaming the center after himself.
“We are honored that Stephen Nakagawa will be joining the Kennedy Center full-time to lead dance programming,” said Grenell. “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.”
“It is a tremendous honor to join the Kennedy Center at such a pivotal moment for the performing arts,” said Nakagawa. “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.”
“With God, all things are possible,” Nakagawa wrote in a social media post. “I am excited and honored to begin working with the incredible Kennedy Center and this amazing administration.”
The newly formed Kennedy Center United Arts Workers said in a statement that the firings are “the latest move in the Grenell administration’s chaotic campaign of intimidation, harassment and retaliation against Kennedy Center workers … all while he drives the heralded institution into the ground.”
According to Playbill, a number of previously announced shows have been taken off the center’s schedule. The producers of “Hamilton” and “Eureka Day” canceled planned engagements and the center canceled a tour of the children’s musical “Finn,” which has themes that could be interpreted as queer.
According to The New York Times, concerns have been raised about Nakagawa, who wrote a letter to Grenell in which he expressed support for the Trump Administration, said he has been “increasingly concerned about the direction the ballet world is taking in America,” and complained about “radical leftist ideologies” and the “rise of ‘woke’ culture” in ballet.
A copy of the letter was provided to the newspaper by a former employee who declined to be identified, fearing retribution. Two other people who saw the letter confirmed its contents.
Critics also said that Nakagawa has limited administrative and curatorial experience compared to Raleigh.
Background in Ballet
Nakagawa grew up in a family of dancers and began his training at the Academy of Russian Classical Ballet. He continued his studies at prestigious institutions, including the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, the Kirov Academy of Ballet, and the South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. His training was guided by renowned coaches, including Ethan Stiefel, Nina Danilova, Victor and Tatiana Kasatsky, Marat Daukayev, Stanislav Issaev, and more.
His career spans more than a decade, first as a company dancer with Ballet West II from 2013 to 2015 and with The Washington Ballet (TWB) from 2015 to 2025. He was hand-picked by Julie Kent and Victor Barbee to take on leading character roles in TWB full-length ballet productions.
He gained recognition as a performer with exceptional stage presence and acting ability, as well as a continuous crowd favorite in roles such as Lord Capulet in John Cranko’s “Romeo and Juliet,” The Father in George Balanchine’s “Prodigal Son,” Von Rothbart in Marius Petipa’s “Swan Lake,” Drosselmeyer in Septime Weber’s “The Nutcracker,” Carabosse in Marius Petipa’s “The Sleeping Beauty,” and Don Quixote in Marius Petipa and Alexander Gorsky’s “Don Quixote.”
As a choreographer, Nakagawa premiered “Rising Sun” in 2021 with TWB. He has also served as a guest ballet master and choreographer at the Metropolitan Ballet Theater, McLean School, and Warrenton Ballet Center.
He has also been a regular guest artist with International Ballet in Greenville, S.C. under the direction of Lena Forster and Vlada Kysselova. He received full scholarships to summer programs at Miami City Ballet in 2011, San Francisco Ballet in 2012, American Ballet Theatre in 2013, and participated in a two-week program at Staatliche Ballettschule Berlin in 2014.
In 2013, he won first place in the Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) regional competition and went on to perform as a finalist in New York’s David H. Koch Theater. He currently resides in Bethesda, Md.