GUEST INSTRUCTORS BIO
Yummy
Young creative, DeAndre “Yummy” Brown of Miami, FL has translated his joy of dance into a storied career that has stretched 15+ years. Now based in the Tampa Bay area, Brown’s mastery of Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Lyrical, Vogue, Hip-Hop and other forms of dance were cultivated as a student at institutions such as “The University of the Arts.” Cultural-based training in churches and organizations like Hype Elite, YCDT with Traci Young-Byron, Iconic House of Ninja and Iconic House of Prodigy only served to enrich his style, versatility and range.
In the next ascension of DeAndre’s dance life, he stepped into his most recent form of artistry within the Black Queer Ballroom scene. Ballroom historically has been the merger of dance, theatrics, design and protest to provide platform and expression for the Black and Brown Queer Community. With the emergence and popularity of shows like FX’s Pose and Legendary on HBO Max, Ballroom has reached a peak of wider acceptance and celebration as an art form.
Joining the Iconic House of Ninja as a regular member in 2012, he grew into the scene as a top contender and up and coming “Legend” of the Ballroom scene. It was here that “Yummy” was born. Walking categories such as “Drag Performance”, “Runway”, and “Hand Performance”, Yummy went on to become the “Mother” of the Florida chapter of the overall House of Ninja. While participating in Ballroom, Brown was introduced to numerous dance communities and organizations such as the Culture Shock Dance community, LTDL family from Arnel Calvario of Kaba Modern where he was able to learn and grow in both art and dance. The culmination of which being the creation of his own collective, Yummy’s World. Yummy’s World is an organization that serves towards the cultivation, progression, resources and impact of the arts in QTPOC communities along with the members of the collective.
Brown’s passion for showcasing his art and educating at a worldwide level just fuels his quest for bigger and more transformative stages. Training in various art forms and experiencing countless cultures through dance has served to develop not only the depth of his personality and way of life but his iconic movement and choreography.
Instagram: yumsgum
Miraj Ninja
Miraj was born on the beautiful island of Trinidad and Tobago. His family migrated to NYC and at the age of 15, Miraj discovered his love for dance. Living in NYC, Miraj was exposed to many different styles of dance and learned choreography in Vogue, Jazz, Hip Hop, Afro-Caribbean and House. The reason he gravitated towards Vogue was because this style of dance allowed him to incorporate all of the styles he learned & loved into one.
The Ballroom Scene (voguing community) enhanced his movements and ability to freestyle through the art of vogue. He’s traveled from state to state, won majority of his categories, and ushered in a new generation of voguers through teaching. His achievements over the past 15 years have awarded him Legendary status. Legendary status is only bestowed upon a chosen few and is only earned through hard work, dedication and consistently competing/winning your category. One of Miraj’s biggest accomplishments was being appointed as the Overall Father of the Iconic House of Ninja. As the Overall House Father, Miraj has to cultivate, teach, advise, and manage everyone who is in the House of Ninja. Since his appointment, Miraj and the House of Ninja have performed at pride events, taught vogue in dance studios and performed at theme parks. Currently, Miraj loves to spend his time teaching his passion for voguing to the world and ensuring the art will live on for generations to come.
Instagram: thee_miraj
