Benny Ninja (né Benjamin Thomas) is a self-taught Vogue-style dancer from the underground clubs based in
Westchester, New York
Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...
.
He is best known for his involvement in
ball culture. He is the father of the
House of Ninja, a post given to him by the late
Willi Ninja of ''
Paris is Burning Paris Is Burning may refer to:
* ''Paris Is Burning'' (film), a 1990 documentary film
* "Paris Is Burning" (''Gilmore Girls''), the eleventh episode of ''Gilmore Girls first season
* "Paris Is Burning", a song from the 1983 album '' Breaking the Ch ...
'' fame.
In his dance, Ninja incorporates aspects of martial arts, gymnastics, house dancing, and yoga. He has performed throughout the United States and Europe.
Ninja is a vogue teacher at the
Broadway Dance Center
Broadway Dance Center is a dance school located at 322 West 45th Street west of Times Square in New York City. It was founded in 1984 as one of the first "drop-in" dance training schools in the world, offering classes in jazz, tap, ballet, conte ...
in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
[Broadway Dance Centre - bio of Benny Ninj]
retrieved April 2, 2015 He is also the co-owner and master training instructor of the Benny Ninja Training Academy.
Ninja had a recurring guest role on
America's Next Top Model from
Cycle 8 until
Cycle 13.
Ninja was involved in the
Metro-North train derailment that took place on Sunday December 1, 2013. He survived the accident but was "emotionally shaken" and suffered "some injuries." Following his accident,
Javier Ninja now occupies the role of ''Father of the House of Ninja''.
[ BBC News (World Service) Twitter page. We can see Benny as one of the survivors holding his jaw. "Wreckage and rescue: Pictures of #MetroNorth train crash in Bronx, New York"]
/ref>
References
External links
Interview at About.com
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ninja, Benny
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
American choreographers
American male dancers
People from Westchester County, New York
Nightlife in New York City
House of Ninja