{"id":46943,"date":"2026-02-27T11:12:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-27T19:12:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=46943"},"modified":"2026-02-27T11:12:28","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T19:12:28","slug":"bay-area-reporter-editorial-sf-ballet-should-cancel-kennedy-center-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2026\/02\/27\/bay-area-reporter-editorial-sf-ballet-should-cancel-kennedy-center-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"Bay Area Reporter Editorial: SF Ballet should cancel Kennedy Center shows"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by\u00a0BAR Editorial Board<\/a> Wednesday, February 25, 2026 (ebar.com)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

San Francisco Ballet in Aszure Barton and Sam Shepherd\u2019s \u201cMere Mortals.\u201d Photo Chris Hardy via Kennedy Center<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attendance has tanked. Performers have canceled in droves. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. is a shell of its former self. Last year, President Donald Trump purged the center\u2019s board, got himself elected chair by a friendly new board, and installed MAGA faithful Ric Grenell, a gay man who lacks gay sensibilities, as interim president. More recently, Trump ordered his name installed on the storied arts venue in an allegedly illegal move to rename it. Yet, the San Francisco Ballet is moving forward with its scheduled performances of \u201cMere Mortals\u201d at the Kennedy Center in late May. The ballet should do the right thing and cancel those shows. A change.org petition<\/a> with over 7,400 signatories urges the ballet to withdraw.

\u201cAs a devoted San Francisco resident and an ardent supporter of the San Francisco Ballet, it pains me to address something that could tarnish the name and spirit of an institution I hold dear,\u201d Daniel Detorie wrote in the petition he started. \u201cThe decision to host a San Francisco Ballet performance at the Kennedy Center in May 2026, following a significant transformation of the venue due to a takeover influenced by policies reminiscent of the Trump administration, has stirred substantial concern among patrons, artists, and citizens alike.

\u201cThe Kennedy Center has always stood as a bastion for artistic freedom and diverse cultural expression,\u201d Detorie continues. \u201cHowever, recent developments suggest a shift towards ideologies and an atmosphere that may compromise this reputation. Donald Trump\u2019s policies during his presidency often clashed with the values of inclusivity and equal representation. Undoubtedly, his influence on cultural institutions may carry forward principles that contradict the very essence of what the San Francisco Ballet represents \u2013 unity, diversity, and creativity without borders.\u201d

Over at 48 Hills<\/a>, critic Charles Lewis III offers some backstory, \u201cTrump\u2019s hostile takeover of the Kennedy Center has led some of the country\u2019s biggest artists \u2013 many of whom normally mute their politics \u2013 to publicly take a stand. Philip Glass, Patti LuPone, Stephen Schwartz, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and the current Broadway cast of \u2018Les Miz\u2019 are just a few of the major names who would rather roll naked over broken glass than kiss the ring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Much like San Francisco Travel\u00a0omitted LGBTQ content<\/a>\u00a0from its Tournament of Roses Parade float back in January \u2013 the purpose of which was to promote the city, which has a vibrant queer community \u2013 the San Francisco Ballet risks damaging its global reputation by performing at a venue that, in the last year, has rid itself of any semblance of promoting artistic excellence. What was constructed as a living memorial to President John F. Kennedy following his assassination is now hollowed out. That will quite literally happen in July, when Trump said the venue will close for two years for renovations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, Kennedy Center leadership is adrift. The New York Times<\/a> reported in late January that Kevin Couch, who was brought on as senior vice president of artistic programming, left the post less than two weeks after his hiring was announced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Curiously, the San Francisco Ballet itself has remained mum. It did not respond to a request for comment when the San Francisco Chronicle<\/a> wrote a story in early January about Detorie\u2019s petition. Lewis reported that the ballet board has held at least one meeting about the issue, but hasn\u2019t announced anything. Our own emails to the ballet seeking comment have gone unanswered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of being a San Francisco cultural institution means standing up for the city\u2019s values. Lewis recalled that the Ukrainian flag was projected onto the War Memorial Building at the ballet\u2019s 2022 opening gala. (This week marked the fourth anniversary of Russia\u2019s deadly war with Ukraine, which shows no signs of abating despite Trump\u2019s promise during the 2024 campaign that he would end it within 24 hours of taking office.) The San Francisco Ballet has long been LGBTQ-friendly, including its stunning galas. Yet, the Trump administration is working overtime to erase transgender people, deny gender-affirming health care to trans youth, and recently removed the rainbow flag from the Stonewall National Monument in New York City. Trump and his administration have violently gone after immigrants, killing two U.S. citizens in Minnesota, including a lesbian mom, in the process, and Trump has revoked policies to fight climate change, among many other terrible policies. He wants to federalize elections. His zeal to implement tariffs flies in the face of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling against him last week. These actions and plans of his go against everything San Francisco, and its cultural institutions, stand for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the San Francisco Ballet goes ahead with the performances, it will leave an impression of supporting the president, since he is in complete control of the Kennedy Center. That, in turn, means backing his policies, as Detorie pointed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t just about art,\u201d he writes. \u201cIt’s about preserving principles that ensure our performing arts remain an unbiased reflection of our diverse society. Allowing the San Francisco Ballet to perform there under such a shadow may inadvertently suggest an endorsement of these divisive policies. This risks alienating the devoted followers of the ballet and undermines the core missions these cultural exhibits strive to achieve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The San Francisco Ballet must do the right thing and cancel its Kennedy Center performances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by\u00a0BAR Editorial Board Wednesday, February 25, 2026 (ebar.com) San Francisco Ballet in Aszure Barton and Sam Shepherd\u2019s \u201cMere Mortals.\u201d Photo Chris Hardy via Kennedy Center Attendance has tanked. Performers have canceled in droves. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. is a shell of its… Continue reading → <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46943"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46943"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46943\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":46945,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46943\/revisions\/46945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46943"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46943"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46943"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}