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Leiomy Maldonado

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Leiomy Maldonado
Leiomy Maldonado
Maldonado in 2016
Born (1987-04-28) April 28, 1987 (age 37)
New York City, U.S.
Other names
  • "Wonder Woman of Vogue"
  • "Amazon Mother"
  • "Amazon Leiomy"
Occupations
  • Dancer
  • choreographer
Years active2002–present

Leiomy Maldonado (born April 28, 1987[1]), known as the "Wonder Woman of Vogue", is a transgender Puerto Rican[2] dancer, instructor, model,[3] activist,[4] and ballroom dancer.[5] She is the founder of the House of Amazon[6] and best known for her voguing. Maldonado introduced a new style of voguing which is more athletic and dramatic when she entered into the scene in early 2000s New York.[7]

She was a member of the dance troupe "Vogue Evolution", which was featured on Season 4 of America's Best Dance Crew. She has worked with artists such as Willow Smith, Icona Pop, and CocoRosie.[8]

Career

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Leiomy Maldonado was born on April 28, 1987, in the Bronx. Maldonado was first introduced to voguing at the age of 15 at the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club in the Bronx.[7] She has said that a mentor there introduced her by giving her a VHS tape:

I went home and I put that tape in and I was immediately intrigued by everything about voguing, everything I saw; the energy, the battling, and just the different personalities that you see through every girl that was on the VHS tape.[7]

A year later at 16, she was introduced to the ballroom scene and became an active member of the community in New York.[7] Ballroom is an underground subculture created by mostly impoverished Black and Latino LGBT youth, where they could safely express themselves through dance battles and pageantry.[9] Maldonado cites Ballroom icons Yolanda Jourdan and Alloura Jourdan Zion as her main influences behind her vogue.[citation needed]

She is the first-ever openly transgender[10] woman to appear on MTV's America's Best Dance Crew Season 4 in 2009, where her crew made it to the top five.[11][12] After appearing on TV, Maldonado's signature hair flip move, "The Leiomy Lolly", was adopted by musicians and celebrities, such as Janet Jackson, Beyoncé, Lady Gaga, and Britney Spears.[13] Maldonado appeared in Willow Smith's "Whip My Hair" music video, doing her signature move.[14][7] While the moves she has created have become known worldwide, credit has not always been given to her as the originator.[11]

She went on to appear in other music videos, such as Icona Pop's "All Night" music video,[15] which paid tribute to the 1991 documentary Paris is Burning, and the video of Russian pop singer Philipp Kirkorov "Цвет настроения синий" (Mood colour is blue).[16]

Pose

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Main article: Pose (TV series)

Maldonado is the choreographer for the ballroom scenes in the show Pose.[17][18] She also appeared in Pose playing the character Florida Ferocity.[19][20]

Legendary

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Main article: Legendary (TV series)

Maldonado is one of the judges on the HBO Max show Legendary, a dance competition inspired by the world of ballroom.[21][22] Ten houses compete against each other in weekly vogue battles, with a different theme for each episode. Maldonado appeared as a judge alongside actor Jameela Jamil, celebrity stylist Law Roach, and rapper Megan Thee Stallion.[7] When interviewed about why she joined the show, Maldonado stated, "I think they will learn how important ballroom culture is for us, for our community. They’ll also experience how much hard work it takes for us to prepare for these balls and how important it is for us to be celebrated and have a platform to showcase our talent."[7]

Other work

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Maldonado was the star of the Nike "#BeTrue" advertisement, in support of Pride Month 2017; she is only the second transgender athlete to be featured in a Nike video advertisement.[23] She also starred in Black Opal's beauty campaign as their first trans model.[24]

She appears in the second episode of the docuseries My House and is the "mother" of Tati 007.[25]

Maldonado has also walked the runway in New York Fashion Week[24] and in the Savage X Fenty Show in September 2021, a TV special about the fashion show of Rihanna's lingerie clothing line Savage X Fenty.[26][27]

Filmography

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Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2009 America's Best Dance Crew Herself Season 4: Member of Vogue Evolution, 5th place (5 episodes)
2018 My House Herself Guest (1 episode)
2018–19 Pose Florida Ferocity Recurring role (7 episodes); also Choreographer for show
2020–22 Legendary Herself Judge

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Leiomy Maldonado - Faculty - Peridance Capezio Center". www.peridance.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  2. ^ "Trans Afro-Boricua Vogue Dancer On Signature Hair Flip That Inspired Beyoncé: "I Was Cheated"". Retrieved March 20, 2021.
  3. ^ "VOGUEING WITH LEIOMY MALDONADO". CR Fashion Book. Archived from the original on March 13, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  4. ^ "This High-Octane Club Mix Celebrates The Diversity Of Baltimore's Music Scene". The FADER. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  5. ^ Eckardt, Stephanie. "Checking In With Rashaad Newsome, the Artist Bringing Harlem's Vogue Scene to Chelsea". W Magazine. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  6. ^ "Voguing Legend Leiomy Maldonado Is Bringing Ballroom to the Masses". vice.com. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g Kleinmann, James (June 19, 2020). "Exclusive Interview: HBO Max's Legendary judge the Wonder Woman of Vogue Leiomy Maldonado "the balls started with trans women"". The Queer Review. Retrieved October 20, 2021.
  8. ^ "Leiomy Maldonado on the Culture of Vogue". thecreativeindependent.com. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  9. ^ Bailey, Marlon. "Gender/Racial Realness: Theorizing the Gender System in Ballroom Culture". Feminist Studies. 37: 365–386.
  10. ^ "The Trans Community of Christopher Street". The New Yorker. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  11. ^ a b "Leiomy Maldonado Talks Signature Hair Flip That Inspired Beyoncé". Vibe. January 25, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  12. ^ "Leiomy Maldonado". Broadway Dance Center. August 8, 2016. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  13. ^ "Leiomy Maldonado Is The Wonder Woman Of Vogue". Oxygen Official Site. January 27, 2016. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  14. ^ WillowSmithVEVO (October 18, 2010), Willow Smith - Whip My Hair, retrieved March 12, 2017
  15. ^ Icona Pop (September 12, 2013), Icona Pop - All Night (Official Extended Video), retrieved March 12, 2017
  16. ^ Raspopina, Sasha. "No, it's not a new rap battle. It's a music video by Soviet pop star Philipp Kirkorov". The Calvert Journal.
  17. ^ Weisenstein, Kara (June 28, 2018). "This Legendary Voguer Invented Beyoncé's Hair Flip". Vice.
  18. ^ Montero, Roytel (June 11, 2018). "How The Wonder Woman Of Vogue Is Stepping Into Stardom On 'Pose'". Forbes. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  19. ^ Gonzales, Erica (September 10, 2018). "This Dancer Did the Most Epic Walk at Fashion Week and We're Shaking". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  20. ^ Blake, Meredith (August 2, 2019). "How 'Pose' perfectly re-creates the queer ball culture of 1990 New York". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  21. ^ Desta, Yohana (May 26, 2020). "Leiomy Maldonado Puts the Legend in Legendary". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  22. ^ Wang, Lydia (May 27, 2020). "A Guide To The Iconic Judges of HBO Max's Legendary". Refinery29. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  23. ^ "Nike's New Ad Stars Vogue Legend Leiomy Maldonado. Leiomy sites Vogue Icons Yolanda Jourdan and Alloura Jourdan Zion as her biggest influences ". ELLE. June 26, 2017. Retrieved October 13, 2017.
  24. ^ a b Maril, Madge (March 31, 2021). "Leiomy Maldonado on Being The New Face of Black Opal Beauty". Harper's BAZAAR. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  25. ^ Street, Mikelle (April 25, 2018). "'My House' Highlights The Modern Ballroom Scene Post-'Paris Is Burning'". Into. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  26. ^ "Rihanna's Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3 presented by Amazon Prime Video". Getty Images. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
  27. ^ Carter, Nakylah (September 27, 2021). "Rihanna continues to amaze with third Savage X Fenty Show". The A&T Register. Retrieved October 21, 2021.
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