Stephen Nakagawa, a choreographer and former company dancer with The Washington Ballet, has been appointed head of the Kennedy Center's dance programming following the dismissal of the entire dance department staff. The Kennedy Center president, Richard Grenell, highlighted Nakagawa's ballet training and commitment to dance education and audience outreach. Nakagawa's public biographies do not list curator or arts-administration experience, making the appointment atypical for a high-profile management role. The Kennedy Center requested a large federal funding increase this year that passed in a spending package but faced Republican-led efforts to delay funding tied to renaming the opera house. Nakagawa described the role as a tremendous honor.
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.
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.
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.
Collection
[
|
...
]