Bruce Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 (edited) It's with a huge mix of emotions I hear of the death of Eric Taub on 20th January. Eric very occasionally posted here but much more frequently on the earlier incarnation of the forum (www.ballet.co.uk) and where he regularly contributed to Ballet.co Magazine from New York. His reviews of New York City Ballet (NYCB) and American Ballet Theatre (ABT) were always gloriously informed reads and often of great length. He was the only critic I know who could write at such length and yet absolutely hold you to every word - I never felt like skipping ahead or speed reading when Eric's pieces came in. Here are a couple of pieces that Eric penned from about 20 years back... New York City Ballet's American Festival in May 2004 (4000 Words!) https://web.archive.org/web/20051201115509/http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_04/jul04/et_rev_nycb_0504.htm Jock Soto's New York City Ballet farewell performance, from June 2005 https://web.archive.org/web/20060214181306/http://www.ballet.co.uk/magazines/yr_05/jul05/et_rev_nycb3_0605.htm I loved Eric's honesty - if he liked something, then you knew it and if he didn't, then you knew that too - he did not pull his punches. I don't think that always made for an easy life with companies or some dancers and choreographers. But it was his way and I admired its less-than-politely-correct, chatty and matter-of-fact style - he wore his in-depth knowledge easily. It should have been that Eric kept writing and writing, but he slowed right down, and while he wanted to write, it increasingly became the case that the words on a show would not come to him. He wrote a few pieces for DanceTabs over the years (https://dancetabs.com/author/eric-taub/) but they were a small proportion of what he saw, and sadly, they are but a fraction of what he thought he would write about. I, and others, were always encouraging him to get thoughts down, but it also became clear he was preoccupied by other things in life, not least his parents and the minutiae of recording his life on various social media. In a busy world, we lost touch a few years ago, and that was a shame. But I prefer to remember Eric in his heyday, where it was like having an indiscreet and very knowledge old friend tell you in no uncertain and exciting terms what exactly happened at the New York State Theater last night. Bravo Eric and I look forward to hearing your candid and witty thoughts on the afterlife in due course! Edited January 23 by Bruce 14 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Oh, what a shame. Such a special and vivid voice that I always cherished. I shall miss the forward potential that I always hoped might come. RIP. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Oh no, this is such sad news. I am (was) FB friends with both Eric and his cat, who had his own FB page! We also followed each other on Instagram. I used to love his reviews, and was sorry when they stopped coming. One of the best lines I have ever read in a review was his, when writing about a Russian ballerina: "The best Kitri I ever saw was her Giselle". That still makes me chuckle. I do hope that someone will take care of his beloved cat/s. RIP Eric, and thanks so much for all the enjoyment your reviews used to bring. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zxDaveM Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 I was really sad to hear this. The last few years had been a struggle for him, hence the lack of reviews. He was one of those FB friends you meet online I really wish I'd known in real life, so to speak. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Such very sad news. RIP Eric. I so hope you have met up with Boris on the rainbow bridge. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Bruce - a worthy tribute to a great guy, and I guess you must have got a bit closer to him than the rest of us did back in ballet.co years. His written style was inimitable - I still treasure the memory of a Gala review of a Rose Adagio performance, in which the Aurora appeared to become more and more desperate, grabbing at each suitor to keep on balance. A classy, well-informed writer and, like Dave just above, I'd certainly like to have known him. Requiescat in pace. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibrown Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Oh Bruce, that is so effing sad. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vadawaii Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) I met Boris and Eric online about 10 years ago. I am not in the arts nor ballet space, but that did not stop me from being enthralled with Eric's reviews that he would share on social media from time to time. Wanting more, I would scour the internet to find pieces he had written. I enjoyed his direct, to-the-point, style. It was peppered with wicked snark, yet he had a way of ever-so-carefully showing you his love and admiration of the art. Now that I think of it, that is how he wrote about his life all those years on Facebook, too. I will miss him. Edited January 24 by vadawaii 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ibrown Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 The extensive NYCB Festival review is not just entertainingly direct and personal - Manhattnik’s New York snap was a joy - but an engrossing detailing of Balanchine ballets we don’t see here. Historically valuable, a prime potential resource for choreographers, stagers and historians in the future. Bravo to Bruce and ballet.co for giving it the acreage that enabled the detailing. His memory (or note-taking) was evidently phenomenal, and his passion and epicureanism spills out on the page. Reader, it is time well spent. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 18 hours ago, Sim said: One of the best lines I have ever read in a review was his, when writing about a Russian ballerina: "The best Kitri I ever saw was her Giselle". oh my, I wish I knew who he was referring to. I watched a broadcast of Vishneva in Giselle earlier this month and had exactly that same thought! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophoife Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 @Bruce thank you so much for posting those links. The piece on Jock Soto's retirement gala (one can't really call it anything else) was absolutely wonderful to read, bringing me in to the audience in the theatre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 (edited) My condolences to his Eric Taub's loved ones. I didn't know him personally but he was a friend of a good friend, and had informative news and opinions to share and I remember how he was very knowledgeable about dance. May he rest in peace. Edited January 24 by Emeralds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simonbfisher Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Sim, sadly the last of Eric’s cats, Boris Borisovitch Ratmansky, died last year and with him, it seems, much of Eric’s will to carry on in a life which was, most of the time, overwhelmingly sad and frustrating. He steadfastly refused to countenance looking after another cat, and with hindsight I think we can know why. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 10 hours ago, ibrown said: The extensive NYCB Festival review is not just entertainingly direct and personal - Manhattnik’s New York snap was a joy - but an engrossing detailing of Balanchine ballets we don’t see here. Historically valuable, a prime potential resource for choreographers, stagers and historians in the future. Bravo to Bruce and ballet.co for giving it the acreage that enabled the detailing. His memory (or note-taking) was evidently phenomenal, and his passion and epicureanism spills out on the page. Reader, it is time well spent. Well said, Ismene. Eric did have a wonderful eye for detail, but I also think he occasionally (privately) videoed shows, and did for many years. I only became aware of this when I saw him in New York around 2006 and visited his flat (and cats!) and he pointed at a pile of hard disks containing his video footage. Not legal, I think he hoped that at some point in time, it would be seen as useful material (shades of Edmée Wood?). But I didn't get the feeling that that was the driver - I think he liked being able to see intriguing performances and works again. It was a great sadness to me that he lost his dance writing mojo, and no amount of cajoling and support could really bring it back. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FionaM Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 That explains his fondness for the back row https://www.instagram.com/p/CuUyKoGAyrv/?igsh=MXBjZTZrM2JweGZ4ZA== 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 25/01/2024 at 12:02, FionaM said: That explains his fondness for the back row https://www.instagram.com/p/CuUyKoGAyrv/?igsh=MXBjZTZrM2JweGZ4ZA== Very impressed that ABT like NYCB also names every person in the corps dancing the villagers and wilis instead of simply calling them "artists of X Ballet"! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrewCo Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) On 24/01/2024 at 06:02, FionaM said: oh my, I wish I knew who he was referring to. I watched a broadcast of Vishneva in Giselle earlier this month and had exactly that same thought! The quip about Giselle/Kitri was part of a discussion on BalletAlert where he posted as Manhattnik--at least that's the version of it I know and the ballerina is actually Ukrainian: "As much as I love Dvorovenko in other things, I have to say that as Giselle, she's a good Kitri." If you scroll down you can find the discussion here: https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/1773-abts-giselle-may-11/ I always enjoyed Eric Taub's writing--obviously it could be a little snarky--and was very saddened to learn of his death and his difficulties; I also had gotten to appreciate his love for his cat Boris through Instagram. I hope and expect that his writings will be part of the archive future ballet historians consider. May he rest in peace. Edited January 27 by DrewCo 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 10 minutes ago, DrewCo said: The quip about Giselle/Kitri was part of a discussion on BalletAlert where he posted as Manhattnik--at least that's the version of it I know and the ballerina is Ukrainian: "As much as I love Dvorovenko in other things, I have to say that as Giselle, she's a good Kitri." If you scroll down you can find the discussion here: https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/1773-abts-giselle-may-11/ I always enjoyed Eric Taub's writing--obviously it could be a little snarky--and was very saddened to learn of his death and his difficulties; I also had gotten to appreciate his love for his cat Boris through Instagram. I hope and expect that his writings will be part of the archive future ballet historians consider. May he rest in peace. He also mentioned it on ballet.co if I remember correctly. I have never read Ballet Alert so wouldn't have seen it there....for ballet.co it was a review. And thank you for reminding me that it was indeed about Dvorovenko! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sim Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 On 24/01/2024 at 11:02, FionaM said: oh my, I wish I knew who he was referring to. I watched a broadcast of Vishneva in Giselle earlier this month and had exactly that same thought! It was Irina Dvorovenko. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 18 minutes ago, DrewCo said: I also had gotten to appreciate his love for his cat Boris through Instagram Boris had a shrine, with an urn containing his ashes, documented in several photographs on Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/manhattnik/p/Czczb3qgU6r/ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bruce Wall Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 18 hours ago, Emeralds said: Very impressed that ABT like NYCB also names every person in the corps dancing the villagers and wilis instead of simply calling them "artists of X Ballet"! Not to put any tarnish on the impression, to do otherwise would bring them up on charges. It is a stipulation of the standard artists contract that all artists performing must be listed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emeralds Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 44 minutes ago, Bruce Wall said: Not to put any tarnish on the impression, to do otherwise would bring them up on charges. It is a stipulation of the standard artists contract that all artists performing must be listed. Thanks Bruce- I do remember you mentioning it; I should clarify "compared to Britain and many other countries". It's good to see (from the cast list) that he was still able to attend and hopefully enjoy recent performances (Catherine Hurlin as Giselle, Daniel Camargo as Albrecht, Fangqi Li as Myrta- I see ABT spells it without the "h"). 8 hours ago, DrewCo said: The quip about Giselle/Kitri was part of a discussion on BalletAlert where he posted as Manhattnik--at least that's the version of it I know and the ballerina is actually Ukrainian: "As much as I love Dvorovenko in other things, I have to say that as Giselle, she's a good Kitri." If you scroll down you can find the discussion here: https://balletalert.invisionzone.com/topic/1773-abts-giselle-may-11/ Poor Irina! I do like her dancing even though we didn't get to see her very often in Britain. I'd love another visit from ABT soon. Their last 2 tours here were full of brilliant performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta Posted January 27 Share Posted January 27 (edited) On 23/01/2024 at 16:02, Bruce said: I loved Eric's honesty - if he liked something, then you knew it and if he didn't, then you knew that too - he did not pull his punches. I don't think that always made for an easy life with companies or some dancers and choreographers. But it was his way and I admired its less-than-politely-correct, chatty and matter-of-fact style - he wore his in-depth knowledge easily. This piece was added to Eric Taub's blog, the aptly named Demicontretemps, in 2019. It is deliciously wicked, hilarious on hair. https://demicontretemps.blogspot.com/2019/06/the-kings-of-dance.html Fly high, Eric Taub, along with Boris, and all the cats who went before, over that Rainbow Bridge. 🌈 Edited to add the full blog link https://demicontretemps.blogspot.com/ Edited January 27 by Roberta 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buddy Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 He was a very colorful, well informed and very likable presence. I didn't always share his point of view, but I missed him already when he stopped posting regularly. May he be at peace. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan McNulty Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 An obituary from his family: https://gordoncemerickfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/2163/Eric-Taub/obituary.html?fbclid=IwAR3ItgYq9pvCv6Q_jFeJlCkdQV5CYSZrFVjVUuc6ZVxzkLxekTPj6Y2tVMg#tribute-start 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Taub Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Eric's obituary is now available here. Thank you to everyone who has posted a tribute or good wishes. Your loving remembrances of him are very meaningful to the family as we mourn him. https://gordoncemerickfuneralhome.com/tribute/details/2163/Eric-Taub/obituary.html#tribute-start 2 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alison Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 I wanted to post when I originally found out, but being on my phone it was rather difficult. I will miss him hugely, and wanted to add my condolences to all those who mourn him. Thank you, Sarah, for posting that picture, and welcome to the forum, even if it is for a very sad reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Macmillan Posted February 9 Share Posted February 9 Sarah, my feelings were expressed earlier - but I'd no idea from his writing that he was also something of a WW2 aviation fan. There's quite a model collection in that display case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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