The Trump administration has turned the Kennedy Center, which serves as a living monument to former President John F. Kennedy, into a ghost town by slapping Donald Trump’s name on the Kennedy Center.
The cancellations have continued to mount after the current administration turned a non-partisan memorial into an ego trip for the current president.
A veteran jazz ensemble and a New York dance company have canceled events at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, intensifying the fallout at one of the nation’s pre-eminent arts centers after it was renamed to include President Trump.
The center had previously promoted two New Year’s Eve performances by the Cookers as an “all-star jazz septet that will ignite the Terrace Theater stage with fire and soul.” But those performances, like an annual Christmas Eve jazz concert hosted by Chuck Redd, are now canceled.
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Doug Varone and Dancers, a New York dance company, also said on Monday that it was canceling two performances in April that had been intended to celebrate its 40th anniversary. Mr. Varone, the head of the company, said it would lose $40,000 by pulling out.
“It is financially devastating but morally exhilarating,” he said in an email.
These artists who are canceling their performances are losing money. Depending on scheduling, it is possible that they could fill the lost dates, but in many cases, it will be unlikely.
The Trump administration has responded to the cancellations with the wrong approach that is likely to backfire on them and keep the venue empty, as we will discuss below.