LaDuca Shoes
His boots are made for much more than walking. Once your feet have slipped into a pair of Phil LaDuca's divine creations, wings will grow from your ankles. Broadway and film stars from Charlotte d'Amboise to Anne Reinking to Bebe Neuwirth to Catherine Zeta-Jones wear his creations. Their autographed shoes adorn the walls with signed photos of some of the most notable names in dance and entertainment. Seasoned gypsies to fresh-from-the-nest wannabes attributes magical casting powers to them, coming back to tell him of the part they got because of his shoes. "Vogue" magazine and the "Style" section of The New York Times have featured his singular sensations.
All this from a street kid in South Chicago who credits the musical "West Side Story" with his conversion.
A gypsy himself, though he didn't start out that way, LaDuca grew up with fisticuffs versus frappes. The art world seemed light years away. Actually, it was only as far away as North Chicago, but that, too, seemed eons beyond his world. You did two things in the 'hood' of the South Side - fight and dance. Street dancing, that is. "Peacocks," he called them. His brother was one of the best and LaDuca was determined to prove himself his equal.
Then came "West Side Story" on TV. "It really influenced me. It had compassion and love and showed an alternative to the violence. I learned to sing in my basement, listening to West Side Story. I knew every song." That spark never left him. It was just the beginning. First stop, singing with local bands at age twelve.
"Years later I took a girl to see 'Godspell' with Joe Montagna as Judas. They invited the audience onstage. That night I took my first step on a real stage, looked out at the audience and said ' this is where I belong'.... Problem was I didn't have a clue as to where "where" was. It took years to get "there".
I was at DePaul University studying political science and law, lugging thick books. I took an acting class my third term for a break and it was like putting on a coat that finally fit. I began acting in plays, learning of the "exotic" arts subculture of theatre and dance. It was a whole new world."
With his street tough bravado, convinced he had what it took, he went to his first audition. The director called him over and told him he "wasn't polished." The word 'ballet' came up. "What, put on tights? Are you crazy?" But then came classes with Bentley Stone, Walter Cameron and Loretta Rozak, who "made him fall in love with dance. "Because I started so late I would take 8-10 hours of classes a day to try and catch up. That plus singing in clubs until 4 a.m., getting up at 8 a.m. to clean studio floors to trade for classes, eating bananas and peanut butter and house-sitting to survive. But I loved it. I was in the arts." Then came every dancer 's nightmare; I tore my knee to shreds from trying to push my body too quickly. I thought I was Superman.
Lou Conte, director of Hubbard Street, proved to be an invaluable friend and inspiration, helping LaDuca make the transition from "broken ballet dancer to musical theatre performer." From there his career went quickly with work in summer stock in places such as the St. Louis Municipal Opera with names such as Robert Goulet and Donald O'Conner
"At twenty-three, I arrived in New York with two suitcases and $800 in my pocket. There were six of us in one apartment. I got three jobs in my first two weeks, including a sword dancer in 'Brigadoon' for the legendary Agnes deMille. I toured with Richard Harris who took me under his wing. A brilliant performer and just a card to be with, I miss Richard."
Although I was a capable dancer, "my voice kept me on Broadway. I was a song and dance man. I could sing better than the dancers, and dance better than the singers. But the body can take only so much. I came full circle.' He tells a harrowing tale of back surgery in Vienna, but learned "I was happiest in rehearsal. Doing eight shows a week for years takes unbelievable talent. I couldn't do it to that level every night. I have a great admiration for those who can."
He spent the next twenty-six years as a dancer, choreographer, performer, director, teacher, writer and coach. "Theatre and dance gave me an avenue of expression," including a rather unexpected one. He noted that "there was no character shoe on Broadway designed to give the dancer the functions of a ballet slipper. The words 'strong' and 'flexible' were incongruous." LaDuca changed all that. He created the shoe.
He credits Allison Ellner as his angel. She gave him a 4x6 booth at the Broadway Dance Center to start. He was also given something much more important from the dancers - feedback. If you build it, they will come, and come they did. He opened his own shop on 9th Avenue a few years later, shoeing dancers in 'Music Man,' 'A Chorus Line,' 'Wicked,' 'Chicago,' 'Movin' Out,' 'Legally Blonde' and many more. If you can imagine it, he'll create it for you; from the perfect wedding shoe, to ballroom beauty, to character shoe. "I work for the dancer, not the dollar."
There is no need to break in his shoes. Just put them on and, "fly"!
Visit their very entertaining site at www.laducashoes.com or call 212-268-6751.