Willi Ninja was known for voguing, a dance style with which he also inspired Madonna. Because he could move like no other, he gave supermodels like Naomi Campell or Iman tips for the catwalk. The dancer and choreographer died of AIDS in 2006 at the age of 45.
Despite his 1.90 meters, Willi Ninja was as lithe as a cat. His elegant movements made the dancer and choreographer an icon in the 1980s. At that time, the African American developed “New Way”, a style of voguing. The dance style, which revolves around edgy body movements, exaggerated model poses and intricate mimic choreography, also inspired Madonna’s smash hit “Vogue.”
Ninja was born William Roscoe Leake on April 12, 1961 in the borough of Queens, New York and grew up in Flushing. He started dancing at the age of seven. As a homosexual, he later distinguished himself at Harlem gay balls. Inspired by martial arts, elements of which he incorporated into his choreographies, he gave himself the stage name Ninja.
Willi Ninja became a New York celebrity through voguing
Voguing was a way for the LGBTQ community in New York’s notoriously homophobic Latino and Black neighborhoods to carve out their own identity. At the drag balls, they competed against each other in groups in dance battles, which they called “Houses” after the model of the Parisian fashion houses and which served as a surrogate family for many young homosexuals.
As the “mother” of the House of Ninja he founded, Willi Ninja became an icon known for her quick wits and sharp tongue as well as her extremely flexible body and quick movements. In the 1990 documentary about the voguing balls “Paris Is Burning”, Ninja stood out as an eloquent advocate of the scene.
The androgynous ninja taught fashion across Europe and Japan, modeled on runways for fashion designers Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler, and danced in music videos.
A Doodle for Willi Ninja
He also taught models how to strut down the runway and gave tips to stars like Iman, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington early in their careers. In 2004 he opened the modeling agency EON (Elements of Ninja) and has appeared in TV series such as America’s Next Top Model and Jimmy Kimmel Live.
However, his skills did not pay off financially. Until the end, Willi Ninja lived with his mother, who was paraplegic, in a cramped three-room apartment in Flushing, Queens. On September 2, 2006 he died as a result of an AIDS illness. Google honors the dancer with a doodle this Friday.
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I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
