Whether she’s masterminding moves for music’s biggest stars, voguing at a ball, or inspiring viewers of HBO Max’s Legendary, the talents of dancer, choreographer, entrepreneur, and creative visionary Dolores Ninja are recognized on a global level. As the highly-respected Overall Mother of the iconic House of Ninja, Dolores is one of the few cisgender female leaders in the ballroom community.

 

Born Dolores Parisi in Bergamo, Italy, the artist discovered her love for dance at an early age and trained in a variety of styles – from hip-hop to ballet – in Milan. At just 22, Dolores established her own dance studio, B.Music School in Bergamo, which remains a popular destination for dancers of all ages and levels.

Not long after, Dolores relocated to New York, where she was introduced to ballroom culture. Enthralled with the underground scene, she began training with the House of Ninja – founded by the “Godfather of Voguing,” Willi Ninja, who believed that the ballroom community should be inclusive to everyone. Still, Dolores’ journey to prove herself wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t overnight. “As a cisgender woman, I started as a guest in the scene,” explains the dancer, who deeply values the culture.

 

Willi’s successor, Benny Ninja, invited Dolores to join the house in 2013. Since then, the dancer has walked consistently in Vogue balls around the world – and has been named freestyle champion numerous times in the Women’s Vogue, Runway, and Vogue Femme categories. She has been awarded Woman Vogue of The Year, Runway of the Year, and Mother of the Year, while she was officially recognized for pioneering the ballroom scene in Italy. In addition to battling, Dolores also regularly judges at major competitions in the US and abroad.

 

In 2014, Dolores was named Father of the House of Ninja Italy, and, in 2018, she became Mother of the West Coast House of Ninja in 2023 she became the Overall Mother of the House of Ninja – a title which she continues to hold proudly today. In 2020, Dolores represented the Ninja family on the premiere season of HBO Max’s voguing competition series, Legendary, where she led a multi-national collective of cisgender females through six of the show’s nine episodes.

 

Outside of the ballroom orbit, Dolores is a highly-respected choreographer and dancer, whose work can be seen on stages and screens across the world. She has choreographed a variety of major live shows, including Lizzo’s sold-out 2019 Cuz I Love You Tour, which kicked off with two high-profile weekends at Coachella. As a professional dancer, Dolores was recently featured in BuzzFeed’s viral “History Of Queer Dance” video, as well as in Facebook’s “See You Here” Messenger Rooms national campaign, which launched in May 2020. Her moves can also be seen in music videos from the likes of indie-pop duo Joy Downer and acclaimed singer-songwriter Diane Birch.

 

Dolores also takes great pride in sharing her craft with others and spends much of her time as a dedicated teacher and mentor. In 2013, she formed the Ubetta Work Crew – an award-winning dance group that has been showcased on the likes of Italy’s Got Talent and France’s Got Talent. The crew was later transformed into the International Kiki House of U Betta, which trains a new generation of voguers in Los Angeles, with global chapters in Italy, Spain, Mexico, and Costa Rica.

 

Based in Los Angeles, with frequent travel back to Bergamo for her B.Music School, Dolores Ninja is currently nominated for legendary status in the ballroom scene, which would make her one of the few cisgender female voguers to attain the highly-regarded title. In the meantime, she looks forward to continuing to spread her passion for voguing throughout the world – always staying true to her personal mantra: non dubitare del tuo talento, mira alla meta, which translates to, “do not doubt your talent, aim for the goal.”