After years of anticipation, LaDuca Shoes is officially opening its doors in Sydney this March! Known worldwide for its handmade Italian dance shoes with flexible soles, LaDuca shoes are designed with dancers in mind, enhancing foot articulation and body weight placement to support career longevity and reduce injury risk. The brand is set to transform the Australian dance scene with its first physical store in the region.
Dance Informa caught up with shoe designer, dancer, choreographer and master teacher Phil LaDuca to discuss his excitement, the challenges he’s faced, and the growing demand for this new store. The idea of opening this location in Australia was sparked not only by the high volume of orders shipped there but also by countless stories of dancers visiting New York or London (existing LaDuca store locations) with shopping lists from friends and empty suitcases, returning with seven or eight pairs of shoes to share.
LaDuca’s presence in Australia isn’t entirely new. The company has long collaborated with Australian productions, crafting custom-made shoes for shows like King Kong, Chicago, Beauty and the Beast, Annie, MJ the Musical, Tina and Six. “We’ve had a foothold in Australia for years,” LaDuca notes. “But I knew we needed a brick-and-mortar store. It just makes sense.”
When questioned with how long this new location had been in the works, LaDuca responds with, “five to seven years…it’s really about logistics and legalities because I didn’t know the laws in Australia. It’s very, very time-consuming. It was similar to London. It took me close to seven years to open a shop there.”
It wasn’t until LaDuca connected with Melbourne-based dance educator Paul Malek, co-founder of Transit Dance, that the store began to take shape. Malek, eager to make LaDuca Shoes accessible to his students at Transit Dance, heard about LaDuca’s desire to expand into Australia, and graciously offered to help any way he could. “That was the instigation, the initial introduction that set everything in motion,” LaDuca reveals.
This led LaDuca to his next divine intervention. While teaching a master class in Sydney, LaDuca ran into an old friend from his Broadway days, Leslie Bell. Bell played a pivotal role in scouting locations for the store, ultimately finding the perfect spot in Sydney. “She became my bridge,” LaDuca says. “She did the legwork, introducing me to realtors and eventually finding a vacant space across from the Sydney Dance Company.”
With Sydney being the third-largest hub for musical theatre after Broadway and the West End, the demand for high-quality dance footwear has only grown. The Sydney location also represents a gateway to broader markets in the Oceania region, including New Zealand, Japan and Korea. “My whole intent and purpose has always been to become a global entity,” LaDuca says. With 25 years of success in New York, five in London, an online shop supporting Europe, and now expanding to Australia, LaDuca Shoes now truly covers the globe!
To celebrate the grand opening, LaDuca will host a master theatre jazz class in February, followed by a raffle where participants can win gift cards to shop at the new location. This is also a great way for LaDuca to meet talent in the Australian dance community which might lead to a new shoe design inspiration. When asked if he has anyone in mind yet to inspire a new shoe design, he reveals, “There are several candidates that I’ve already seen, and I’m very anxious and encouraged to see what else is out there.”
Despite his success as a shoe designer, LaDuca remains, at heart, a dancer. As he said when receiving a Chita Rivera Award this past year, “I am a shoe designer, but I was, am and always will be a dancer. Dance will always be my heart and soul and everything that I’ve done in my career as a performer, as a choreographer, as a director, as a writer, and now as a shoe designer has been for the dancer.”
The Sydney store isn’t just a business milestone — it’s a testament to LaDuca’s unwavering commitment to dancers.
You can follow LaDuca Shoes on Instagram: @laducashoes.
By Abby DeReamer of Dance Informa.
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