Video: Celebrating 25 Years of LaDuca Shoes with the Man Himself, Phil LaDuca

Well, hello there, you big, beautiful Broadway world

It's me or Broadway buddy, Ben Cameron, and I am here on site at the legendary Loduka shoe store on 45th Street here in Manhattan

heart of the theater district, Broadway Central. Place of the Universe, let's be honest

I'm here today with my friend, Phil Loduka, who is celebrating 25 years of Loduka in dance and entertainment

When I say that, Silver Anniversary, 25 years, when I say that, what is your heart and your gut do to you

It makes me think of where have all these years and shows and dancers that have come through

Where did we start? And now we're here, and I see so many of my contemporaries that are doing so wonderfully

Jerry Mitchell, Lauren Lataro. And it's marvelous to see that we're all still here

Yeah. Yeah. And making such a big impact. It's hard to imagine a dancer entertainment world at this stage of the game without Laduca

in it, because you revolutionized the game and how dancers are able to move their bodies

and sustain their bodies, which is so admirable and quite a Cinderella story

I mean, not that you were ever rags before riches. You had an incredible career starting out as a dancer

trained as a ballet dancer and a contemporary dancer, and went on to do several shows on Broadway, Pirates of Penzance

me and my girl, singing in the rain. Brigadune. Tell me a little bit about the early days of Philadelphia

before there was a shoe. Well, I had started classical ballet and tore my knee out in a rehearsing

for Bluebird doing double tour on layers and snapped the knee. I catch you every time

Those kinds of things, the trajectories that knock you into another direction at the time, they seem catastrophic

And yet you learn later as the reason why it happened because I had sung in rock and roll bands through my teens

which I loved doing, but realized it pretty much was a dead end. We weren't going to go very

far. So someone suggested from my ballet because I could sing to go into musical theater

and from there I went to Muni Opera and did several shows and

fell in love with musical theater obviously, came to New York and the first Broadway

show I did was Brigadine for Agnes de Mill. One of the great

icons of dance and godfathers and how amazing to work with I mean, I know you've worked with a lot of the big ones

To work with a legend like that is breathtaking, just to sit in on a rehearsal and watch her work

and to hear the words from her mouth. She is one of the, as you say, the pillars of our industry

She's the first one who incorporated dance into the storyline. Instead of bring on the dancers, you know

They were part of integral Oklahoma. Right. And so to work with someone of that ilk, first time out on Broadway was just stunning

It's the stuff of dreams. Now, from that Broadway career and some pesky double tours on Lair

you went on to teach quite a bit. And some have regarded you as the godfather of jazz, particularly in St. Petersburg, Russia

Yes, that is what I was named in that particular genre with St. Petersburg

It was wonderful, and I did a lot of teaching throughout Europe

And to bring musical theater jazz dance to Europe, at the time, we're talking 20, 30 years ago

was not heard of at the moment. And so it was really wonderful to introduce a whole

generation, a whole other countries and something that is so American. And that was what really was heartwarming for me until 1999 when I popped the disc out of my back in Vienna

teaching and choreographing of folks opera ballet. And that trajectory, another injury, is how La Ducca Shoes started

Because I knew that I would have to you take time to recuperate from this injury And I saw the writing on the wall that the scene was changing A hip was becoming the dance mode and not a hip dancer here

I'll admit that. Weirdly, neither am I. So it just is serendipitous that an injury, another injury, the back surgery

is what really motivated me to find something. And I remembered when I had first started on Broadway

and Pirates of Penzance, when I fit my pirate boots, and I said, I cannot point my feet in these

And they were like, yeah, so what? And it was like, that doesn't make sense

You as a dancer know, our whole lives in studios and classes

it's all about articulation of the feet and using the floor. So coming through the foot

And so coming, I knew the footwear was part of the problem as far as injuries for dancers

And the humblest thing that I feel grateful for is the dancers who come to me

the Elizabeth Parkinson's, the Lori Kenyaks, to thank me for helping save their career or make longevity for them

Can I ask beyond knowing that there's a need, for a different way to move for dancers

Did you have any sort of background or interest in the design side of it

in the architecture and the engineering of it? None whatsoever. Okay. I never took any design classes, fashion classes, costuming, technical

To me, it all just was common sense. Having being a dancer, having had injuries

I knew where the placement of the body needed to be. There is a line that we, throughout the body

that if you are on your center, as you know well, you can move quickly

You can take back, forward side. You can move, shift your weight

If your weight is already forward, how are you going to go more forward? If it's back, you've got to go so much more

It just all made sense. And I think that is probably the greatest point that makes me different is that I am a dancer who had injuries

And so I not only talked to talk, but I walked the walk. And I had to learn when I found a factory in Italy to help me to design and produce the shoes

They taught me how a shoe is made. I taught them how a dance shoe should be made

And it's completely different. 100%. And that trajectory is so kind of indicative of the life of any dancer really, where

you know, injury is inevitable and something that has to be navigated. You can't rail against it

We don't have a lot of control in that. And it's wonderful that you've been able to continue to

promote the well-being of dancers from your dancer's heart, because we always have that

don't we? Dancers, and I say first and foremost, I am a dancer. And that's what is important. And the dancers

love me for that because I am one of them and they know my heart is with them

and everything I do is for them. It's not as if I went against the establishment or anything

but I brought in a new element that wasn't there before and really wasn't thought of as important

Dancers somehow, some way, are always kind of put at the bottom of the pecking order. And I hope and I feel that I've elevated them. And I think you have

I want to talk about to that point exactly, you have this wonderful tradition of naming some of your

shoes after some of the great dancers and performers within our industry. Names that

and we'll get to the celebrities in a moment, but there are names with this industry that are

giants to those of us who live this life. But I think about, you know, the Arii

and I think about the, you made the Nini for Robin Hurd or, and tells the..

Ariana, yeah. Ariana DeBose. And, of course, the first one to come to mind is the Elizabeth, Liz Parkinson

Right. And the Cheetah. Uh-huh. So it was my homage to the people that were my contemporaries or came before me

I was so lucky to have danced with another one of my namesakes Annie Annie Rankin So to have danced with Annie and Chita Rivera that bridge from that generation to myself

I feel I'm still teaching. I still do master classes because I want to continue that education

and that bridge between the generations of theater dance. And it is very important that

That lives on, and unfortunately, we keep losing our dear people like Cheetah andisht Walker and Hinton Battle

So I feel responsible to help carry the flag, per se. And you feel that when you walk in the doors of this store, with the posters and the Wall of Fame and all the wonderful shows and productions, movies

I mean, I'm looking over there and I see a shoe that was custom made for Katie Perry

And let's look at that because this is not names that I'm just going to rattle some off of people that you've worked with and created with

Katie Perry, Merrill Streep, Taylor Swift, Emma Thompson, Hugh Jackman, Catherine Zeta Jones, Pink, Laus O'Longa, Shanaya Twain, Penelope, Cruz, Elena Gomez, Christina Aguilera, share I could go on and on and on

Tell me a little bit about how LaDucaa hit and became the must-have and so iconic in the industry beyond the theater stage

I think it probably started with Uma Thurman. When they did the movie of the producers, I had done the stage show production

So when they did the movie in Irma played Oula, she saw the other dancers in rehearsal with Laduka shoes

And she said to one of the gals, what is that shoe

Oh, it's a luduca. So she went to William I belong, the customer, and said

why don't I have ladukas? So I created the Uma for her

And the same with Catherine, Zeta Jones. when she saw, because Catherine, like ourselves, was a Corrine

She was a dancer. Absolutely. That moved up in West End, 42nd Street, I believe she played Peggy on West End

And same thing. She would see the gals in rehearsal and were like, what is that

The dancer comes out with the stars. so many of them have dance backgrounds, but we never knew that

Glenn Close was a musical theater artist, Barnum, on Broadway. And people don't register that

And it's kind of similar to, they think that I started as a shoe maker

Right. And they're surprised that I had a dance career. But then it all makes sense as to why Leducas shoes are different because of that

Katie Perry was the other one that I had a phone. phone call from Johnny Woocheck, Johnny Wu, her stylist

And Johnny said, would you come out to California to do shoes for Katie Perry

So I went out to California, and Katie was marvelous. She was, oh, you do so many famous people

I can't believe you're doing my shoes. I've never had custom-made shoes. Well, look at her now

Yeah, it's working out just fine. Tell me a little bit, and you do all the stuff

for every Broadway show and tour at this stage of the game, which is speaks to the quality of the product and and what people want to be able to do. I do have a question about one film and this is just a sneaky, like nerdy thing for me because I've long list of television credits and films that you've worked on. One of them stuck out to me that I thought, well, this really kind of transcends even the dancer experience. And that is the Eternals. Marvel's The Eternals. I want to know where are the Loduccas in the Eternals

Well, they are on Angelina. Of course they are. Selma. Yes, they are

And let's see, who else did I do on that? Harry, Harry Stiles

Oh, my God. So those were the big ones that I had done

And I am so proud of the fact that I personally fit them

And Angelina, she has. a very long leg and she's very particular. I mean, she is really precise about every single thing

And people seem to think that demanding I found it to be intelligent that she knew who she was She knew her capabilities And she wanted to ensure that they were shown properly

What I was thrilled about was that doing a knee-high boot is very difficult for all the nuances of the leg

When she put the boots on, she said, I only want these

I only want this maker. Don't, you know, every shoe I get I want this shoemaker

Those are the moments. Shania Twain, when I went to do her shoes and met her in her room in Sweet in Las Vegas

she was a bit skeptical because she doesn't come from a dance background

But, of course, the concert stars, they have chorus and dancers behind them

They can't just stand still. Those days of my love Linda Ronstadt, you know, just standing on a mic and rocking

you have to now get into it with the whole crowd. Sure. So she, and she didn't want high, high heels

So when I put her in some of my samples, and she was like, wow, these feel really good

How high are these heels? And I said, that's a three inch. And she's like, I don't wear three inches

But. You do now. The placement. Yes. The placement of where the body is

It's about the pitch. And as high as you go, as long as you maintain leveling the pitch of that shoe, you can go up to five inches with a platform and not feel it

Before we wrap up, I want to just take a moment to point out the shoes that you here have designed and given yourself

Look at the extension. Those are so fun. These are my Tommy opening night

boots that I made. I needed something, as I always say, if you're going to get custom shoes

make sure people know their custom shoes. Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So 25 years in, and I think

you've hit on this just a little bit, but before we say goodbye, what's the future of Laducaa look

like? Thank you. Well, it's wonderful, and I'm humbled by 25 years of having dancers

even buy my product or use them. I never started with the intention of a business

I just saw a need for dancers, and I wanted to help them

Everything else has been just heaven-sent. I don't know where I'd be without the shoes

And so I really marvel over the past 25 years, but actually my focus is on the next 25 years

From here, next week I go to Australia. I will be breaking grounds, so to speak, of setting the Brown Wharf Foundation for Laducah, Australia to open there

Big market, wonderful dancers, lots of fabulous theater. And, of course, I have the shop in London, which is five years on now

And we really have been very fortunate. We do pretty much... most of the shows on West End, and they have just taken me in their arms, and I love it there

I also, in a couple of a weeks, maybe about six weeks, will be launching La Ducca Europe

Okay. And that will be based, it'll be internet-based for the time, with an eye on La Ducca Madrid in the future

World domination is what you're saying. That's what I'm hearing, Phil. I yes global I call it yeah I call it Loduca World at the moment and planning stages and we're in development of doing sites for our websites the London to New York to combine and with Europe and then Australia adding on so it'll be a homepage of Liduca world so basically anywhere in the world you can get your Liduca shoes easy access well congratulations

on 25 years, we wish you the very best. On behalf of dancers all over this Loduka and Broadway World

thank you for taking care of our bodies and keeping us doing what we love so much

It is my pleasure, and thank you, Broadway World for this. I am very, very pleased and happy to sit here

with a fellow dancer who really, you know, my heart and soul always been with the dancers

and I want to thank you all, and you know how much I love you. Thanks, Phil

Oh, so hug it out