By Marcus Franklin
Associated Press
Monday, September 11, 2006

Willi Ninja, 45, a dancer whose skill in the gender-bending art of "voguing" influenced Madonna and was immortalized in the documentary film "Paris Is Burning," died Sept. 2 at New York Hospital Queens. He had AIDS-related illnesses.

Inspired by Fred Astaire, "Great Performances" on PBS, Asian culture and Olympic gymnasts, Mr. Ninja was a self-taught performer who stitched together a patchwork of a career that extended into the worlds of dance, fashion and music.

The critically acclaimed 1990 documentary, directed by Jennie Livingston, shed light on the exotic gay subculture in which the cross-dressing participants, many of them black and Hispanic, displayed their costumes and styles at Manhattan balls.

Judges rated participants on the realness of their drag impersonations; and on a deeper level, the balls became a colorful demonstration of serious issues of gender, class and race.

In its review of "Paris Is Burning," the New York Times called Mr. Ninja "a lithe, articulate young man who also happens to be a master in the art of 'voguing,' in which dancers attempt to top each other by using gymnastics and the gestures of high-fashion models."

Madonna used the style in 1990 in her No. 1 hit record and video "Vogue." Speaking through a spokeswoman, the singer said: "He was a great cultural influence to me and hundreds of thousands of other people."

In a 1991 Associated Press interview, Mr. Ninja -- born William Leake in 1961 -- said that the drag queen balls began in the 1960s and that over the years, new varieties of performance, including voguing, evolved as more gays participated.

"I didn't find out about it until 1980. . . . I didn't know what this was about. I began learning from the experts, and I developed my own style," he said.

Boosted by the attention from "Paris Is Burning," he performed with dance companies, worked under noted choreographers and instructed models and socialites how to walk and pose with frisson .

Livingston said Mr. Ninja, a "supremely gifted dancer" who was dedicated to his craft, was "one of the main reasons" she made the film.

She recalled walking through Washington Square Park one summer and spotting young men voguing beneath a tree. She approached them to learn about this dance, which was new to her, and the young men told her to look up Mr. Ninja.

"Whenever you talk about vogue or voguing, Willi's name is there," Livingston said in an interview. "Willi refined voguing. He really brought it to an amazing level."