What's Happening at the Kennedy Center?

The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC is getting a lot of attention these days…

The Kennedy Center, 2016 (personal photo)

This morning, the Kennedy Center announced a new Director of Dance Programming- Stephen Nakagawa, a former dancer with the Washington Ballet. Last week, the entire Dance Programming staff was fired, citing “lack of confidence in leadership” following questions about their programming choices and its appeal. When reading this NYT article about the terminations, two things stood out to me in particular. The first:

“The firings followed a meeting last week between the three-member dance programming team and Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center’s president. Mallory Miller and Malik Burnett, the two other fired employees, said Mr. Grenell urged the dance team to come up with programming that was more “broadly appealing” and less “niche” — which he told them would help the institution attract corporate sponsorships.”

The Dance Programming team did plan performances like “Alice in Wonderland” and “Swan Lake,” which are ballets that are considered to have broader appeal and name recognition. I could understand the call for programming with broader appeal, but what stands out is- it wasn’t in the interest of the audience, it was with the intention of winning over corporate sponsors. The Kennedy Center does have cooperate sponsors- it is funded in a public/ private partnership where the government pays for some of it and donors/ sponsors pay for the rest. Theaters around the country are struggling to stay afloat as they combat some of the highest operating costs in history (The Kennedy Center's FY 2025 budget request for Operations and Maintenance (O&M) is. $32.30 million, an increase of $4.66M or 16.9 percent above the FY 2023), arts budget cuts on a federal and local level, and dwindling audience support. Grenell’s idea to make the programming more commercial- his suggestion was “something like So You Think You Can Dance”- fundamentally shows that he is just entering this sphere and doesn’t have a concept of what theaters and arts organizations in this country are dealing with. Along with these comments, I'm also reaching this conclusion based on his history of having never run a theater or arts organization before- Grenell was a political advisor and PR consultant before working in the State Department (he also joined the Board of LiveNation in May... while they're in the middle of an anti-trust lawsuit brought on by the Department of Justice... seemingly the only professional connection between Grenell and any kind of performing art). Nakagawa could be a big help to Grenell in understanding this world, and espeically after working at a ballet company in DC, but he also, as far as I know, has no directorial experience.

On a personal level, I wish that corporate sponsors would support the programs that are selected by people with a high level of knowledge about dance, and maybe it would help audiences see the relevance and appeal of classical and contemporary work.

The second thing that is getting a lot less attention was:

“Mr. Grenell had clashed with the dance team earlier this summer, Ms. Miller and Mr. Burnett said, when he expressed frustration that the Kennedy Center did not have oversight over the Washington Ballet, which frequently performs at the center but is an independent organization. They said that the conversation grew tense after they defended the autonomy of the ballet company and that they were both put on an unpaid two-week administrative leave.”

This, again, demonstrates Grenell’s lack of understanding of how the Dance Programming actually operates at the center, but further, calls into question the future of Washington Ballet! The second that Trump took interest in the Kennedy Center, I immediately joked about him creating “Make Ballet Great Again” or another brazenly titled resident ballet company at the Kennedy Center, in the style of Soviet-era Russian Ballet companies that performed propaganda ballets (although those companies were entirely state funded… just saying…). While the center previously hosted a resident company- the Suzanne Farrell Ballet (from its founding in 2000-2017)- it never controlled the work that was performed. As far as I understand and can find on the internet, Ms. Farrell was in charge of programming for her own company. So, if the Kennedy Center would absorb Washington Ballet as a resident, traditionally they would maintain autonomy as a company- as described by the Dance Programming staff- and the center would provide rehearsal space, performance venues, and promotional support. Although we might be quick to brush this idea off, the Washington Ballet is in some trouble at the moment. They currently have vacancies for a Company Manager, Director of Development, and School Director, and recently found an interim Executive Director after a long search, which might not be complete yet, judging by the interim title. This along with their rumored (of a few years now) budget issues could mean they are in a tough position if the Kennedy Center offered them a lifeline, even if it meant giving up artistic control. This becomes even more interesting now that Nakagawa steps into the role, as someone with a connection to the company. Ultimately, I am speculating that if this idea came to life, it would be the decision of their board, and none of this reflects on the amazing work the Edwaard Liang is doing with that beautiful and diverse company.

Brief History of the Kennedy Center

The takeover of the Kennedy Center and the direction in which the institution is moving feels like a large shift from the reason it was founded. Let’s look at the history of the center:

In 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Cultural Center Act- which led to the creation of the National Cultural Center. JFK became president in 1960, and he and First Lady Jaqueline Kennedy led a major fundraising campaign to bring the center to life. After his assassination in 1963, the National Cultural Center was renamed the Kennedy Center in his honor. Groundbreaking on the center occurred in 1964 when Lyndon B. Johnson was president.

“In Washington there should be a center of culture… an artistic mecca.” – Eisenhower

“I look forward to an America which will steadily raise the standards of artistic accomplishment and which will steadily enlarge the cultural opportunities for all our citizens.” – John F. Kennedy

“No act of Congress or Executive order can call a great musician or poet into existence. But we can stand on the sidelines and cheer. We can maintain and strengthen an atmosphere to permit the arts to flourish, and those who have the talent to use it. And we can seek to enlarge the access of all our people to artistic creation.”- from Johnson’s remarks at the groundbreaking of the Kennedy Center

All these men shared a common goal- to create a public cultural center that could host national and international artists and celebrate them, to engage Americans with high quality art, and to show that our country values a wide range of art. This includes dance, music, theater, and visual art, presented in 5 theaters and various other areas (lounges, classrooms, studios, atriums, plazas, gardens) throughout the venue.

Dance Programming at the Kennedy Center has included a long, long list of incredible companies including:

-American Ballet Theater

-New York City Ballet

-San Francisco Ballet

-Dance Theater of Harlem

-The Washington Ballet

-Pacific Northwest Ballet

-Royal Ballet (UK)

-Bolshoi Ballet (Russia)

-Mariinsky Ballet (Russia)

-United Ukrainian Ballet

-Royal Danish Ballet

-National Ballet of Canada

-Paris Opera Ballet

-Ballet Nacional de Cuba

-National Ballet of China

-Royal Swedish Ballet

-Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo (Monaco)

-Scottish Ballet

-Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater

-Paul Taylor Dance Company

-Twyla Tharp Dance Company

-Complexions Contemporary Ballet

-Akram Khan Company

-Acosta Danza

-BalletX (Philadelphia)

-Laboratory Dance Project (Korea)

This list highlights the international appeal the Kennedy Center has- as a ballet dancer these are the companies that stood out to me, but I can attest that the programming is not only geared towards ballet fans. Dance companies from all over America and the world have graced the stage here, and it has generally been held as a high honor.

personal photos from the Kennedy Center, 1: entrance columns, 2014, 2: Linnea Swarting (author) and fellow dancer Carmen Salta in the Eisenhower Theater Green Room at the Kennedy center, 2015

The successors to the rest of the terminated Dance Programming staff haven’t been announced, nor have any plans for the future of Dance Programming. It’s clear that Grenell feels the number one priority is commercial appeal, and that mentality along with the announcement of the use of the Kennedy Center for FIFA World Cup draw shows a possible direction that this institution could take. It could also be the beginning of a broader conversation in the dance community on how we can make concert dance commercially appealing again (MCDCAA?), or what constitutes art and culture vs. entertainment. There is a lot to take away from this, and I can only remain optimistic that the new Dance Programming staff will have the knowledge and reverence for dance that has been shown in the past.