Alyssa Edwards – An American Drag Performer And Choreographer

As a little kid, the dream the father of Justin Johnson had for his son was to become a football player. After he was forced to the bench as a result of an injury, what he became interested in more than observing how the game was played by other players was what the cheerleaders were doing and all the dance. It was this that would come to become the birth of Alyssa Edwards.

Biography

While it is as Alyssa Edwards that we have all come to know her, it was as Justin Dwayne Lee Johnson that the drag performer was born on 16 January 1980 in Mesquite, Texas. He was raised alongside 4 siblings in Texas. He was a queer child while growing up, loving pink stuff together with his sisters.

As he grew up, his father decided to sign him to little league football, but after he ended up with a broken arm, he realized that that was not what he wanted to do. For his education, Justin went to the West Mesquite High School.

Alyssa Edwards is popular as a drag performer. The journey to becoming who she is, began when an uncle who was a gay actor invited Justin to a local theater community where he was involved in. Edwards was given a small role to play with a very good performance, his uncle wanted him to get involved with the theatre some more because it was easy for him to pick up things.

His next destination would be the Joy Sharp School of Dance where he was enrolled by his mother to with the help of his uncle to learn Jazz music. While there, his interest in choreography would kick in and when he was through with his classes, he would stay back to watch and pick up some steps which he would go and practice with his sisters.

When he was set to begin her career as a drag performer, Justin Johnson decided it had to be Alyssa Edwards. Alyssa because he grew up watching Who's The Boss! and Alyssa Milano was his pick because she was beautiful, charismatic, and funny. He selected the name Edwards because of the former drag queen Laken Edward who was among the earliest people that trained him.

Career Life

The inspiration for Edwards to become a drag performer came for her when she was 19. That was the first time that she went to a gay club and it was all surprising to find a place like that, but it was a start of something new for her.

Edwards has won many pageant titles in the past including the Miss Gay Texas America (2005) and then going on to become the Miss Gay America Alternate in the same year. She was also the Miss Gay USofA (2006) and Miss Texas Continental in 2007 and 2009. In 2009 and 20016 she won the Miss Shining Star Continental and Miss Gay America respectively. She Southern Elegance All American Goddess and All American Goddess in 2010.

Beyond drag performance as Alyssa Edwards, Johnson owns and runs the Beyond Belief Dance Company. He began the school as a result of the fantasy he had since he was a child to become the Steven Spielberg of dance. A choreographer and director, Justin wanted to tell stories through moves and dance, adding something to his motivation in starting the company.

Justin Johnson has also appeared in some TV shows and some movies sometimes as Justin and other times as Alyssa. Some appearances include in Hurricane Bianca (2016) and the second part in 2018, Beyond Belief (2015), and he is working on a docuseries that is soon to appear on Netflix, "Dancing Queen.