Kennedy Center's New Dance Director Criticized 'Woke' Ballet Culture and "radical leftist ideologies in ballet"

[BlueWaveNeverEnd]

is he actually MAGA or did he pretend to be MAGA to get the job???

Kennedy Center’s New Dance Director Criticized ‘Woke’ Ballet Culture
Stephen Nakagawa, a former dancer with the Washington Ballet, wrote a letter to the leader of the arts center complaining about “radical leftist ideologies in ballet.”



The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts named Stephen Nakagawa, a former dancer with the Washington Ballet, as its director of dance programming on Monday, shortly after firing the department’s previous leader and declaring that its programming would be moving in a new direction.

Mr. Nakagawa had written a letter to the center’s president, Richard Grenell, in which he noted his support for the Trump administration and complained about “radical leftist ideologies in ballet,” according to a copy provided to The New York Times by a former employee who declined to be identified, fearing harassment or retribution.

Two other people who saw the letter confirmed its contents to The Times.

Mr. Nakagawa also wrote that he had grown “increasingly concerned about the direction the ballet world is taking in America” and had become distressed by the “rise of ‘woke’ culture” at the Washington Ballet and other companies.

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Last week the center fired its previous dance director, Jane Raleigh, and two other employees. In interviews, the three employees said Mr. Grenell had urged them to come up with programming that was more “broadly appealing,” providing as an example the TV show “So You Think You Can Dance.”

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/arts/dance/kennedy-center-stephen-nakagawa.html?unlocked_article_code=1.hE8.zBkn.0XwcZwLbfVDt&smid=url-share