Larry was a ninja from Japan who came to the United States at age 17.

Although being a ninja took up most of his time, Larry also liked to get nasty on the dance floor. During his senior year at Mini-Milwaukee High School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Larry was the co-captain of the school's dance troupe, The Red Cadillacs. Occasionally (during competitions), Larry would turn invisible in the middle of a routine and assassinate one of the judges, but for the most part, he kept his ninja life separate from his dancing life. That was, of course, until Giuseppe Ellington came to town.

Giuseppe Ellington was the only son born to Ethel and Heil Ellington, the first cousins of jazz great Duke Ellington. Determined to escape the shadow cast by his parents' cousin, Giuseppe dedicated his life to learning and perfecting the style of dance known as Prododumbre. Nary did he rest for more than a day as he constantly pushed his body beyond its physical limits. In Spain, Giuseppe studied for eleven years under the great Prododumbre dancer El Greco the Second, living a pauper's life in order to pay for his master's tutelage. Finally, in the eleventh month of his eleventh year of study, Giuseppe bested his teacher in a Prododumbre Dance-A-Thon. At this point, Giuseppe believed he could return to the United States as his own man, not merely the inbred son of Duke Ellington's cousins.

Giuseppe's triumphant return to United States ended tragically two months after it began. In order to gain publicity as a dancing phenomenon, Giuseppe's agents had arranged for a series of dance competitions to be held in Tennessee where Giuseppe could prove his worth against America's greatest Bible-Belt dancers. After winning the first two competitions without even a modicum of effort, Giuseppe entered the Chattanooga Competition a 40-1 favorite to win first prize. Unbeknownst to Giuseppe, Larry the Ninja was planning his own publicity stunt.

After five uneventful rounds of Prododumbre-influenced dance, Giuseppe and Larry were tied for the lead. The judges that survived Larry's earlier rounds demanded that Giuseppe and Larry have a dance-off. The stage was then painted with blood and sea-salt was spread over the dance floor. The two dancers took their places on opposing sides of the stage, each in deep concentration. The sound board cued up "Waiting For Tonight", and the dance-off began.