Willi Ninja, known popularly as the “Godfather of Voguing” who helped bring the underground dance form from Harlem in the 1980s to the world, is honored today in a Google Doodle in honor of the anniversary of the release of the legendary house culture documentary Paris Is Burning. The Doodle features an illustrated version of Willi, and after a click, reveals an animated video clip that includes not only the sketch of Willi, but other voguers performing in the same style that made the star famous.
The video was illustrated by Rob Gilliam, edited by Xander Opiyo, and features original music by Vivacious. The performers in the clip are current members of the House of Ninja (Archie Burnett Ninja, Javier Madrid Ninja, Kiki Ninja, and Akiko Tokuoka aka KiT Ninja) who are dancing in celebration of Willi’s legacy.The Doodle comes after Google Arts & Culture launched an extensive archive of the ballroom community earlier this month.
Born William Roscoe Leake of New York City in 1961, Ninja took to dance and performing arts as a child. Though his mother couldn’t enroll him in classes, he was able to see ballet performances at the Apollo Theater. This, combined with a love of Asian culture and martial arts, would eventually intertwine into the genre of dance Ninja would become known for. When he first began to dance in the style, it was initially called “posing” before going on to be called Old Way voguing. Ninja pushed the genre forward, adding contortions to his movements, helping to establish what became the New Way vogue.
While Willi is known most prominently for his role in Paris Is Burning, where he breaks down the art form of voguing, explaining the purpose behind it and vows to one day “make the real Paris burn,” he was also a popular dancer at the time. Before Paris Is Burning debuted, he performed in music videos with Janet Jackson — specifically “Alright” and “Escapade.” In fact, an early edit of Paris Is Burning made it to the U.K.-based artist Malcolm McLaren who then wrote the song “Deep In Vogue” about the scene and flew Ninja to London to star in the music video. He also performed onstage with Madonna. For a time, he was a part of the music group Breed of Motion which also included Tyrone “The Bone” Proctor, another influential choreographer of the time.
In Paris Is Burning, Ninja introduces himself as the mother of the House of Ninja, which he founded with Sandy Ninja. Following the success of the documentary he was catapulted into a level of fame, appearing on tv shows and more. He went on to walk the runway of major fashion designers like Jean Paul Gaultier and Thierry Mugler.
As Benny Ninja said during a talk with artist Ridikkuluz at Arts Westchester during Westchester Pride on Sunday, for Willi voguing was a dance form just like any other. He divorced it from sexuality and treated it as an art form. This allowed him to help expand the footprint of voguing, teaching classes on annual trips to Asia as well as all across Europe. Many of the ballroom scenes in Europe and Asia still have a large presence of cisgender women and this is in part due to a precedent set by Willi.
But Willi was also savvy in the ways of business. In the early 2000s and late 1990s, there was a negative backlash against the ballroom scene. Willi had closed the House of Ninja for his own reasons but eventually opened another collective called Elements of Ninja which operated more like a modeling and talent agency, working to get performers paid. He eventually reopened the House of Ninja with Benny as the father.
Willi’s legacy is indelible in the success and notoriety of both ballroom and the art form of voguing. Over the years he choreographed contemporary dance companies, working with Karole Armitage, and even taught model classes attended by Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington when he was hired by agencies like Elite and One. Though he died in 2006, his legacy and impact lives on.
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