Willi Ninja: The Godfather of Voguing
William Roscoe Leake ( Willi Ninja ) was a trailblazing dancer , choreographer, and activist who helped promote voguing, a form of dance that emerged in the 1980s in New York City's African American and Latino ballroom scene. Ninja was born William Roscoe Leake in Flushing, Queens, New York in 1961. He began dancing at an early age, inspired by African American and Latinx dancers such as Josephine Baker and Eartha Kitt. Ninja began competing in ballroom dance events in the early 1980s when he immediately became known for his inventive and colorful style. He quickly rose to prominence in the ballroom scene, founding the House of Ninja, one of the most successful voguing houses in history. Ninja had a significant influence on voguing . He contributed to the codification of the dance's moves and style, as well as its popularization outside of the ballroom environment. Ninja's work was featured in the seminal documentary " Paris is Burning ," which helped to pop...