The "MAGA Former Dancer" Named to a Top Job at the Kennedy Center Inherits a Troubled Program - Washingtonian

"A self-described "MAGA former dancer" is now leading the Kennedy Center's dance programming, and he's inherited a series decimated by local boycotts, according to ticket sales data reviewed by Washingtonian . Stephen Nakagawa, who until earlier this year was a company member at the Washington Ballet, replaces Jane Rabinowitz Raleigh, a veteran local arts administrator who was fired August 21 by Kennedy Center president Richard Grenell."

"Although most of the Kennedy Center's 2025-26 dance programming was contractually locked in before President Trump took over leadership of the center in February, Washington audiences are voting with their feet to skip out. Ticket sales are so poor, the Stuttgart Ballet will be performing for an Opera House between 4 and 19 percent full when the German company comes to Washington early next month. BodyTraffic, the Los Angeles troupe booked for the smaller Eisenhower Theatre October 29 and 30, is at 12 percent capacity."

"Mallory Miller and Malik Burnett, two junior dance administrators who had been active in efforts to unionize Kennedy Center employees , described a tense meeting with Grenell where he questioned the center's lack of oversight for the Washington Ballet, an independent nonprofit that rents performance space at the venue. Miller and Burnett were placed on unpaid administrative leave, prior to being fired , and Grenell pushed ahead with plans to have a former Washington Ballet dancer lead all dance programming at the Kennedy Center."

Stephen Nakagawa, a former Washington Ballet company member who calls himself a "MAGA former dancer," now oversees Kennedy Center dance programming after the firing of Jane Rabinowitz Raleigh by president Richard Grenell. Preexisting 2025–26 contracts remain, but local audiences are largely boycotting performances, producing extremely low capacities: Stuttgart Ballet projected at 4–19 percent and BodyTraffic at 12 percent. Subscription revenue has fallen roughly 50 percent. Junior administrators Mallory Miller and Malik Burnett, active in unionization efforts, were placed on unpaid leave and later fired amid disputes over oversight. Alvin Ailey moved its engagement to the Warner Theatre.

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