The King of Dancing Shoes

 

This week's blog is not punctuated with injury and death but is one filled with inspiration - and hard work. It is also a tale of displaced migrants making the long journey to Australia to start a new life.

JACOB SIMON BLOCH

Jacob was born in May 1898 in Lithuania and named Yaacov Shimon, son of Lozer Blochas, painter and cobbler, and his wife Chaja. Shoemaking was in the family's DNA and at the age of 11 Jacob was apprenticed to a shoemaker. Jacob also studied dance until he was 15, when he moved to the larger city of Verniai to work as a cobbler. It was in Varnia that he married Zise Sandler, a bootmaker's daughter, in 1919.

Polly, Zise's sister, and her British husband had migrated to Australia in the late 1920's. With their help Jacob arrived in Sydney in 1930, in the middle of the Depression, with the aim to find ample work to allow Zise and his children to follow him here.

Determined to make a success of his decision to migrate to these shores, with limited English, he went from shop to shop seeking work as a cobbler. At one store, a display of ballet shoes gave him an idea and at a studio he visited he observed a young ballerina having difficulty getting onto her toes. Bloch decided that he would establish his own business in a niche market. He rented a small space in Oxford Street Paddington and commenced making dance shoes to order. Bloch's vast array included flat ballet slippers, pointe shoes, tap shoes as well as character shoes. In 1933 he was doing well enough to be able to support Zise and his three children upon their arrival in Australia that year.

Bloch Ballet shoes - author's photograph of display at the Jewish Museum Sydney

Three years later Bloch expanded to larger premises in Taylor Square Darlinghurst. During the 1930's many ballet companies toured Australia including the Dandrea-Levitoff Company and the Ballets Russes of Monte Carlo, who toured in 1936, 1938 and 1939. Famous dancers from those companies such as Irina Baronova and David Lichine bought and wore his shoes.

When Russian-speaking dance companies came to Sydney, Bloch visited the dancers and acted as an interpreter, whilst also taking orders for his strong and long-lasting shoes.

Jacob was more a craftsman rather than a shrewd businessman and his business grew slowly as his output was only about fifty shoes per week. Most orders were finished on time but to Bloch it was all about the quality of the finished product and as such he was never a wealthy man.

In 1950 Bloch opened a small factory in Botany but the sea air affected the drying time of his glue-stiffened pointe shoes. In 1959, he opened a new factory in inner city Zetland and a city shop in the Piccadilly Arcade.

Photograph of Jacob Bloch in his factory - courtesy of The Australian-Jewish News (with thanks)

"Jack" Bloch, as he was known, loved to play cards, enjoyed a good party and was known to lead the dancing at community get-togethers.

A heavy smoker all his life, Bloch suffered a fatal heart attack on 12 April 1961 at his home in Waverley in the eastern suburbs of Sydney. He was buried in the Jewish cemetery at Rookwood, leaving a wife, two sons, one daughter and many people who knew him both socially and in a business capacity to mourn his loss.

Headstone for Jacob Simon Bloch - author's own

After his death, his daughter Betty and her husband, who had joined the business some years earlier, expanded the company into a one-stop dance shop.

Today, Bloch is arguably one of the world’s leading provider of technical dance footwear and apparel. Pointe shoes are still made by hand. Jacob's grandson, David now heads the company and the tradition of putting the needs of dancers first and foremost is still the number one driver of the company.

Example of Tap shoes - Australian Dictionary of Biography 

Many leading dance companies throughout the world rely on Bloch to shoe their dancers including the Royal Ballet, The Bolshoi Ballet, American Ballet Theatre and our own Australian Ballet. Bloch’s stores are found throughout Australia and supply to all dancers from tiny tots to seniors.

Yaacov Shimon would be extremely proud of the legacy he has left to the world.

I have gathered information for this blog today from the Australian Dictionary of Biography, The Jewish Museum, Sydney – I recommend a visit there highly – Bloch’s website and other Trove searches; all freely available.

If you have any comments, please add them below or go to the Facebook Group page at

rookwoodcemeterydiscoveries

or contact me personally via my email

lorainepunch@gmail.com