Ninja, Willi
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Other Identifiers
- *MGZIC 9-3355 Everybody dance now [videorecording] 1991.
- African American National Biography, accessed March 17, 2015, via Oxford African American Studies Center database:(Ninja, Willi; William Roscoe Leake; choreographer / dance director, dancer; born 12 April 1961 in New Hyde Park, Long Island, New York, United States; famous for Paris Is Burning film (1990); Grand Jury Prize from Sundance Film Festival (1991); graduated from Bayside High School (1980); formed own ball troupe, The House of Ninja; recorded music video Deep in Vogue (1988); taught vogue in Japan (1989); was introduced by McClaren to fashion houses in Europe: Chanel, Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld and hired as runway coach; launched the House of Latex with Gay Men's Health Crisis, New York, annual benefit ball raising funds for AIDS prevention work; formed modeling agency EON (Elements of Ninja), and television show America's Next Top Model (2004); died 02 September 2006 in New York, New York, United States from AIDS-related heart attack)
- New York times WWW site, Sept. 6, 2006(Willi Ninja; b. William R. Leake, Apr. 12, 1961, Queens; d. there Saturday [Sept. 2, 2006], aged 45; known as the Grandfather of Vogue, a dance form that he helped move from the New York club scene of the 1980s to the concert stage)
Wikipedia description:
William Roscoe Leake (April 12, 1961 – September 2, 2006), better known as Willi Ninja, was an American dancer and choreographer known for his appearance in the documentary film Paris Is Burning. Ninja specialized in voguing and was a fixture of ball culture at Harlem's drag balls who took inspiration from sources as far-flung as Fred Astaire and the world of haute couture to develop a style of dance and movement. He caught the attention of Paris Is Burning director Jennie Livingston. The film served as a springboard for Ninja. He parlayed his appearance into performances with a number of dance troupes and choreography gigs. In 1989, Ninja starred in the music video for Malcolm McLaren's song "Deep in Vogue", which sampled the then-unfinished movie. Ninja was a member of the LGBT community who died of AIDS complications in 2006.
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