Strike a sad pose

I'm just certain my life wouldn't be the same without him. That song and that dance defined my social status and all that I was thought of in High School. Silly, fun, arrogant, attitude, dance. To this day, people remember me as the boy who vogued. So I'd like to say thanks to Willi for giving me a chance to express myself and making my teenage years so fun. -B

Madonna's Vogueing Muse dies Posted: 07 September 2006 - source

Willi Ninja, master of vogueing, has died. He was accompanied by Madonna to the premiere of the documentary in which he starred, Paris is Burning.

He was also a big influence on Madonna's song Vogue and her video borrows heavily from his Deep in Vogue released a year earlier with Malcolm Mclaren.

Willi was asked to be one of the lead dancers for Madonna's Blond Ambition world tour in 1990, but had to decline as he was still under contract to Malcolm Mclaren and touring with him.

Madonna herself has said about Willi: "He was a great cultural influence to me and hundreds of thousands of other people."

To read a further short report on Willi Ninja visit www.nypost.com