Ken Tabachnick is the new Deputy Dean at the Tisch School of the Arts, NYU.

Tabachnick has extensive experience in all areas of the entertainment business. Most recently, he was Dean of the School of the Arts, Purchase College, SUNY, and before that was the general manager for the New York City Ballet (NYCB), where he was responsible for all administrative aspects of the largest American dance organization. Tabachnick joined NYCB after working as a lawyer focusing on intellectual property, licensing, and corporate matters. He began his career as a lighting designer working with clients such as the Bolshoi Ballet, Kirov Ballet, Paris Opera Ballet, Martha Graham Dance Company, Trisha Brown Company, Live from Lincoln Center, Robert Wilson, Stephen Petronio, and Karol Armitage, among others. Tabachnick was also the resident lighting director at New York City Opera from 1986 to 1990, where he designed approximately a dozen operas. Some of his other design clients included: Pittsburgh Opera, Greater Miami Opera, Michigan Opera, Wolf Trap Opera Company, Hartford Stage, and Berkeley Rep.

He earned his JD from Fordham Law School in 1996. At Fordham, he was consistently on the Dean's List and served as the writing and research editor of the Fordham Intellectual Property, Entertainment and Media Law Journal. Tabachnick was admitted to practice law in New York State in 1997 and maintained a solo practice in New York City serving a variety of clients, including online ventures, magazines, directors, writers, designers, and producers. From 1998 to 2000, Tabachnick also served as general counsel for Rising Tide Studios. While attending law school, he was the corporate relations director and Gotham Awards producer for the Independent Feature Project, a not-for-profit service organization supporting filmmakers. He then worked as executive director of the Hamptons International Film Festival. Until joining NYCB, Tabachnick was the managing member of indieWIRE LLC, a news publisher focused on the independent film sector. For indieWIRE, he was responsible for financial oversight, licensing, contract negotiations, employment matters, and brand development.

Tabachnick lives in New York City with his wife and son. He holds a second degree black belt in Taekwondo.

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