David Tabachnick
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Articles by David Tabachnick
‘HERE LIES THE TRUTH’ comes to the end of its transforming and transformative run
Erasure… Deportation… Members of minority groups nonetheless taking up their share of space by word and deed… UW-Madison dance professor Li Chiao-Ping’s hour-long dance HERE LIES THE TRUTH provokes thoughts on these topics so recently in the news. The performances, Feb. 5-7, in the Margaret H’Doubler Performance Space in Lathrop Hall, 1050 University Ave., are to be the final ones of a work that has developed and changed over a decade.
Paths to healing
UW-Madison Dance Department’s Faculty Concert 2025 will feature work from Omari Carter, Li Chiao-Ping, Bradford Chin, Kate Corby and Chris Walker, as well as from guest artist Holly Johnston. The works range from films to a dance aiming for greater accessibility. Overall, the program demonstrates the breadth at play in the department.
Madison Ballet’s ‘Rock the Ballet’ is endlessly inventive
Madison Ballet is putting on a remarkable show called “Rock the Ballet.” Prepare for frequent applause and standing ovations as happened Friday night. The most ambitious dance of the evening is Ja’ Malik and Mr. Chair’s Rhapsody in Blue. Ja’ Malik, the artistic director of Madison Ballet, does the choreography and jazz trio Mr. Chair remakes Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.
Kanopy’s ‘Puppet Master’ is edgy and unexpected
Come into my boat and cross over into this Stygian carnival, if you dare! That is the invitation from choreographer Robert E. Cleary, collaborator Lisa Thurrell, and Kanopy dancers in their performance of Cleary’s Puppet Master. The dance opens with the Puppet Master, danced by Alex Trofka, gleefully kneading space with his hands as he gloats like a demented 2 year old over those in his power.
Isthmus Dance Collective's D.E.L.V.E. concert incorporates almost every kind of dance
The Isthmus Dance Collective’s D.E.L.V.E. concert showcases new works by choreographers , and the most theatrically ambitious piece is a choral poem and dance performance called If It Weren’t For Her Stays. Erica Pinigis sets the choreography to poetry by Madison poet Andrea Musher. Pinigis also created the recorded soundscape of voices reciting, chanting, and singing Musher’s poetry along with music by Bach and Handel.
Kanopy Dance’s ‘Inner Passages’ program creates an immersive dance world
Kanopy Dance choreographers Robert E. Cleary and Lisa Thurrell grab hold of Michael Bell’s symphony Regeneration: A Pentalogy and make it into an immersive dance world they call Renascence. It’s a new portion of its five-part dance to Bell’s symphony and the heart of the troupe’s current program, “Inner Passages.” Regeneration: A Pentalogy is inspired by the grand storytelling of 19th century composers such as Tchaikovsky.
Facing annexation threats, should Canadians lament for a nation — like George Grant did in 1963?
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By David Edward Tabachnick, Professor of Political Science, Nipissing University In his book ‘Lament for a Nation,’ Canadian political philosopher George Grant wrote that Canada’s original death knell was acquiescence to American demands that it accept their nuclear weapons in Canada. Read complete article © The Conversation -
Facing annexation threats, should Canadians lament for a nation - like George Grant did in 1963? Original
A decades-old lament for Canada is back on some Canadians’ minds as United States President Donald Trump makes repeated annexation threats.
Donald Trump on the minds of Sudbury voters as they head to the polls
They will also cast ballots on April 28 in redrawn electoral districts Published Mar 23, 2025 • Last updated 4 minutes ago • 6 minute read From left: Liberal Leader Mark Carney; NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre. Article content When Sudbury-area voters head to the polls to elect a new federal government on April 28, they will do so in ridings dramatically different than the ones they cast ballots in three years ago.
The Li Chiao-Ping concert asks: Who am I, and, Do I belong?
Thursday’s night performance of the UW-Madison dance concert Dirty Laundry was a ferment of creative collaboration among Li Chiao-Ping, the dancers, composer Byron Au Yong and video artist Hong Huo. In the foreground was the always- inventive dance; in the background, videos and still photos were projected, accompanied by a layering of recorded voice-over narration and music and sound collages.
The Li Chiao-Ping concert asks: Who am I, and, Do I belong?
Thursday’s night performance of the UW-Madison dance concert Dirty Laundry was a ferment of creative collaboration among Li Chiao-Ping, the dancers, composer Byron Au Yong and video artist Hong Huo. In the foreground was the always- inventive dance; in the background, videos and still photos were projected, accompanied by a layering of recorded voice-over narration and music and sound collages.
UW Dance Department Faculty Concert offers various takes on change
The theme of the current UW Dance Department Faculty Concert is change, from Li Chiao-Ping reformulating the idea of female energy in the I Ching to Collette Stewart dramatizing evolution over time. Guest artist Takehiro Ueyama shows how we lose our grasp on time, Jin-Wen Yu how we lose our grasp on each other, and Omari Carter how injury changes a dancer. The program, which features student dancers, premiered Nov. 21 and will also be presented Nov. 22 at 8 p.m. and Nov.
David Tabachnick
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In a time of flood and flame, Kanopy Dance’s ‘Polaris’ draws on ancestral wisdom
Kanopy Dance’s current program, "Polaris," onstage at the Overture Center’s Promenade Hall through Oct. 12, connects its audience to ancestral wisdom through the power of Ojibwe myth and masked dance. That’s particularly true in the dance Wolf: A Transformation, choreographed and narrated by Daystar (Rosalie Jones), of Pembina Chippewa-Cree ancestry. Daystar founded the first Native American modern dance company right here in Wisconsin.
Our universities are in crisis. That's bad news for democracy
Our institutions of higher education are once again front and centre in the news as increasingly illiberal “Freedom Palestine” protests roil campuses across North America. These events, however, are merely the latest expression of deeper compounding problems. Our universities are in serious trouble—and that’s bad news for our society overall. It is worth examining how we got here. In much of Canada, the post-secondary sector faces a grim financial crisis.
Aaron Wudrick, David Livingstone, and David Tabachnick: Our universities are in crisis. That's bad news for democracy
Commentary 01 May 24 Our institutions of higher education are once again front and centre in the news as increasingly illiberal “Freedom Palestine” protests roil campuses across North America. These events, however, are merely the latest expression of deeper compounding problems. Our universities are in serious trouble—and that’s bad news for our society overall. It is worth examining how we got here. In much of Canada, the post-secondary sector faces a grim financial crisis.
Opinion: Northern universities are between a rock and a hard place
'All universities have great difficulty planning for the future because, at any given time, the government may rearrange all of the playing pieces on the board' The full story of the tragic decline of Laurentian University in Sudbury has yet to be told. But what seems fairly obvious is that a lack of proper oversight combined with gross financial mismanagement pushed the institution over the edge. Other institutions might have had the financial resilience to overcome such grave errors.
The four characteristics of Trumpism
The Republican nomination race in the United States has given the world a new term: Trumpism. Obviously, Trumpism is linked to the person Donald Trump but its roots run much deeper, intertwining contemporary and traditional political trends in such a way that makes it both uniquely American and of the 21st century, distinct from the European Fascism of the last century.
Donald Trump’s populist presidency is the real coup, not the impeachment inquiry
Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) speaks to Rep.
Donald Trump’s populist presidency is the real coup, not the impeachment inquiry
U.S. President Donald Trump and his defenders have repeatedly referred to the ongoing impeachment inquiry as a “political coup” led by Democrats and “progressive left-wingers.” Trump himself has called it a coup attempt. Trump and his supporters claim the inquiry runs the risk of undermining the rule of law and overturning a free and fair election, pillars of American democracy. In turn, there have recently been thoughtful efforts to differentiate the impeachment inquiry from a coup.
Support us, but leave us alone: Northern Ontario’s paradox
NORTH BAY — In an incident tailor-made to fuel northern resentment, Lou Rinaldi (Liberal MPP for Northumberland-Quinte West) recently made what he thought was an off-camera remark on the legislature floor, allegedly calling northern Ontario a “no-man’s land.” He was quick to explain that his comment “had absolutely nothing to do with northern Ontario, but was in response to [Nipissing Progressive Conservative MPP] Vic Fedeli’s comments” made earlier in the debate.
Don't believe conservatives who claim they're protecting free speech in colleges -- here is what's really going on
This summer, mere days before the beginning of the semester at most universities in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced a new policy requiring “every publicly assisted college and university to develop and publicly post its own free speech policy by January 1, 2019, that meets a minimum standard specified by the government.” Ford had campaigned on a promise to “ensure that publicly funded universities defend free speech for everybody” and now, it seemed, he was delivering.
Protecting free speech on campus: A solution in search of a problem
This summer, mere days before the beginning of the semester at most universities in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced a new policy requiring “every publicly assisted college and university to develop and publicly post its own free speech policy by January 1, 2019, that meets a minimum standard specified by the government.” Ford had campaigned on a promise to “ensure that publicly funded universities defend free speech for everybody” and now, it seemed, he was delivering.
Protecting free speech on campus: A solution in search of a problem
This summer, mere days before the beginning of the semester at most universities in Ontario, Premier Doug Ford announced a new policy requiring “every publicly assisted college and university to develop and publicly post its own free speech policy by January 1, 2019, that meets a minimum standard specified by the government.” Ford had campaigned on a promise to “ensure that publicly funded universities defend free speech for everybody” and now, it seemed, he was delivering.
The strange origins of the free speech warriors
Many free speech warriors today base their position on a proclamation articulated by Oliver Wendell Holmes, the early 20th century United States Supreme Court justice. In his dissenting opinion in United States vs. Schwimmer (1929), Holmes wrote that “if there is any principle of the Constitution that more imperatively calls for attachment than any other, it is the principle of free thought — not free thought for those who agree with us, but freedom for the thought that we hate.�
The strange origins of the free speech warriors
Many free speech warriors today base their position on a proclamation articulated by Oliver Wendell Holmes, the early 20th century United States Supreme Court justice. In his dissenting opinion in United States vs.
The strange origins of the free speech warriors
Many free speech warriors today base their position on a proclamation articulated by Oliver Wendell Holmes, the early 20th century United States Supreme Court justice. In his dissenting opinion in United States vs.
The strange origins of the free speech warriors
In his dissenting opinion in United States vs.
Defining First Nation treaty rights is a slippery job
NORTH BAY — In February, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced an initiative aimed at establishing a new nation-to-nation relationship between the federal government and Indigenous communities. The Recognition and Implementation Rights Framework represents an attempt to deal with outstanding issues including questions about fishing rights, land claims, and pipeline approvals. The pledge is admirable, and the 2018 Canadian budget backed it up with billions of dollars’ worth of allocations.
Is Jordan Peterson the philosopher of the fake news era?
A lot of ink has been spilled over the astonishing rise of Jordan Peterson, the University of Toronto psychology professor who has risen to become the new conservative darling of the anti-political correctness crowd. He has been deemed everything from dangerous to brave as well as “just another angry white guy.” A Globe and Mail columnist recently pointed out something that seems fairly obvious to many of us who have listened to and read about his views.
Who has the right to Ontario’s Algonquin lands?
NORTH BAY — There are many unsettled issues related to Indigenous rights and self-government in Canada, but there’s broad consensus on one point: Aboriginal rights are collective in nature. They are held by communities, and facilitated by a deep and abiding bond between the people and the land. In turn, the settlement of land claims is of critical importance to Indigenous people so that they can actually practise their rights.
Support us, but leave us alone: Northern Ontario’s paradox
NORTH BAY — In an incident tailor-made to fuel northern resentment, Lou Rinaldi (Liberal MPP for Northumberland-Quinte West) recently made what he thought was an off-camera remark on the legislature floor, allegedly calling northern Ontario a “no-man’s land.” He was quick to explain that his comment “had absolutely nothing to do with northern Ontario, but was in response to [Nipissing Progressive Conservative MPP] Vic Fedeli’s comments” made earlier in the debate.
Why Ontario must take action on the Energy East pipeline
NORTH BAY — Many residents of North Bay are breathing a sigh of relief now that TransCanada has decided to reassess the viability of its Energy East pipeline project — but some feel the province should be doing more to protect their community. The project would involve converting a natural gas pipeline so that it could carry bitumen from western Canada to refineries in the East.
There is no Alt-Right only Alt-Reality
Much has been made of the displacement of establishment American conservatism by the alt-right. A mish-mash of the politics of grievance, nativism, economic nationalism and a growing list of conspiracy theories, it is difficult to find a place for the alternative right movement on the traditional political spectrum. In good part, that is because it is neither right wing nor a political movement as such.
Barack Obama is the founder of Donald Trump
Last week’s hiring of new campaign chief Steve Bannon, the editor-in-chief of the ultra conservative conspiracy theory generating website Breitbart.com, reconfirmed the key role hard right talk radio and social media has played in the rise of Donald Trump Donald TrumpCoulter criticizes Trump for immigration stance Barack Obama is the founder of Donald Trump Clinton buries Trump in negative ads MORE.
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