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WASHINGTON — Performers and former employees gathered on the steps of the Kennedy Center on Saturday, staging a dance-based protest they say was meant to call attention to politically motivated firings and changes in arts programming.
The demonstration was organized by Hands Off the Arts, a group criticizing recent staffing and leadership changes at the Kennedy Center. The organization claims the Trump administration has politicized the historic arts institution and interfered with the types of performances being programmed.
Video from the protest shows organizers leading choreography while chanting messages like, “Stand up against government interference of art in our cultural institutions.”
Mallory Miller, a former employee who says she lost her job in August, helped organize the event.
“Overnight, the Kennedy Center staff went from being employed by a normal person to being employed by the President of the United States,” Miller said, adding that the shift created fear among staff.
“There was an intention to change the kind of program that was coming out of the Kennedy Center,” she said.
Organizers say the firings, which included the entire dance-programming team, fueled concerns that political influence could reshape what kinds of art are showcased at the center.
“As an artist, I feel like we’ve been attacked this whole presidency,” said former employee Holly Bass, who attended Saturday’s protest.
Much of the protest centered on simple, symbolic choreography designed to represent the emotional “seasons” artists say they’re navigating under the current administration.
“Really simple choreography that says more with a few simple gestures,” said Kelly King, leader of The Movement Movement. “We are in a difficult season right now, but we expect that to change.”
Bass said she believes the Kennedy Center has strayed from its artistic mission.
“I think it’s lost its mission and the sense of community,” she said. “It is just really painful to see a beautiful jewel of the arts be taken apart for political reasons.”
In a statement previously provided to WUSA9, Kennedy Center spokesperson Roma Daravi did not address the protest directly but said the institution “welcomes everyone who wants to celebrate the arts.”
Earlier this year, President Donald Trump said his administration had ended what he called “woke political programming” at the venue.
Miller said she sees the changes at the Kennedy Center as a “warning sign” for arts institutions across the country and believes artists will continue to use performance as a form of resistance.
“I believe in the power of dance and the power of art to bring people together,” another protester said. “And I think that’s the most important thing.”
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