Today we’d like to introduce you to La Porscha McMiller.
Hi La Porscha, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
When you’re a woman in this world seeking herself, you begin to embark on that journey.
Hi, I’m La Porscha McMiller, a Houston native. Many knew me as Shun Paris, but that was just another part of my life story, one that I will always respect because it is the reason I stand in who I am today.
Between 2015 and 2018, my life took me through some spins. I was a brand ambassador, in entourage with a local celebrity, modeling, producing shows, and truly living the entertainment lifestyle. Then I found myself twisted up in what I thought was my happily ever after, but that was no fairytale of a marriage. That marriage pulled me from the life I enjoyed into a life I hated, and then pushed me to find myself again.
In 2018, I left Houston and the parts of me I didn’t recognize, and I restarted my life. There were no more alter egos, just me, myself, and I, La Porscha. I had to look myself in the mirror many times to find love again. Love for this Black girl, I mean woman. Every part of me, I had to love, the good, the bad, and the ugly.
That journey took me to understand my roots. It brought me faith again, and that brought me back home to myself.
In 2020, with some sense that I had gained and also a little human growing inside me, I moved back to Houston. Another plot twist, but one that brought me blessings. I was led to a spiritual house in the heart of Third Ward, Sweet Love Sanctuary, and was met by Goddess Jessi, who helped me heal over 20 years’ worth of trauma that I had suppressed, forgotten, and never spoken about.
Not only did I go through healing, but it also unlocked a part of me that had longed to come out. I had to understand the mysteries of who I am. This woman later became my godmother in African spirituality, Orisa Ifa, and this was my missing key; the wisdom that was shown to me returned everything that I had lost.
Now, as Goddess La Porscha, I have also found Sugar Ann Spice, an energy created through the art of dance and spirituality. Intertwining my gifts for dance and my knowledge of spirituality to birth a healing place for myself within myself has brought much pleasure to my womb.
Most see Sugar Ann Spice and would just say, “Oh, she’s a burlesque dancer,” or someone with little knowledge would say “stripper”-not to discredit, because strip club culture has kept burlesque somewhat alive. But I’m not just that. I am not just a sensual performer; I am an educator, a mentor, a healer, a mother, and a bona fide Goddess, because I am the creatress of my world.
Every performance is an offering, a homage, a dedication to the women of my ancestral lineage, the women who didn’t have control over their bodies, for the liberated women and the women still finding their way back to themselves, and for the divine women.
I use my medicine to help other women heal. I use my performances as prayers, as a ceremony, as a ritual. It’s important to understand that though the art is sensual, it is still healing. As my godmother would say, you can’t have spirituality without sexuality.
Now, as a Black woman, I have birthed Melanin Ancestral Shake Haus, where I produce burlesque shows featuring Black bodies, Black faces, and Black rhythm, to invite my community to open their minds to burlesque. This space is not just about performing; it is also a space for Black women to have their stage to tell their stories.
I created Melanin Ancestral Shake Haus to help Black women heal through sensual movement. Because truly, who hasn’t felt a shift after a good twerking?
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My road has had many obstacles, but none that I couldn’t get over. However, the one bump I’ve run into over and over again, through many life cycles, is people trying to put me in a box.
I do not do well with being digestible, and I’ve become comfortable not being everyone’s cup of tea.
I’ve dealt with not being accepted in spaces because of my complexion, my size, and my style of dance. How about being the only Black performer the producer booked, yes, the token Black girl…
but when you look around the room, and you don’t see yourself, representation matters.
As a performer who intertwines her spiritual gifts with dance, people will make their side comments, which I’m not going to get into. I’ve also faced the difficulty of finding lounges and venues that will accept Black burlesque productions, people getting over on you, people not understanding what burlesque really is, and the shame and judgment that can come with it. The list can go on.
But I stay true to my art.
And as the great mother Erykah Badu would say, “I’m an artist, and I’m sensitive about my…” I’ll keep it clean for the viewers.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
Some people will say I’m a burlesque performer, and that’s true, but it’s only a piece of what I do. I specialize in using movement, sensuality, and spiritual awareness as a pathway to healing. My work lives at the intersection of body and spirit. It’s where performance becomes ritual and where expression becomes release.
Through Sugar Ann Spice, I’ve created a space where I can embody that fully. It’s not just about dancing, it’s about storytelling, energy, and intention. Every time I step on stage, I’m not just performing for an audience, I’m holding space for transformation, for myself and for the people witnessing it.
But my work doesn’t stop on stage.
As Goddess La Porscha, my spiritual work goes deeper and more intimate, and it is open to everyone. I offer private sessions where I guide people through releasing, restoring, and reconnecting with their bodies through sensual movement and spiritual practices. That can look like egg cleansing rituals, where energy that has been carried, whether emotional, spiritual, or physical, is pulled and released from the body. It can look like cord cutting, which is about intentionally breaking energetic ties to people, experiences, or patterns that no longer serve you. And sometimes, it’s simply holding space for someone to come back into themselves in a way that feels safe and embodied. This work is sacred to me. It’s not surface level, it’s ancestral, it’s intentional, and it’s rooted in helping people move energy through the body so they can truly feel, release, and heal.
I’m also the creator of Melanin Ancestral Shake Haus, and that is very personal to me. I saw a gap here in Houston, when it came to Black women in burlesque, not just in visibility, but in how we are centered and honored. So I built something that reflects us fully. A space where our bodies, our rhythm, and our stories are not only accepted but celebrated without limitation.
Another layer of my journey is my commitment to education. I am a first-generation graduate, receiving my first degree this May, and I’ve been accepted into Prairie View A&M University to continue my studies. While my degree supports my career in what I call the matrix, my calling goes beyond that. My education is a tool, something that will help me build and pour back into my community in a larger way. There are parts of what I’m building that I don’t fully share yet, because they are sacred to me. Like a mother carrying a child, some things are meant to be nurtured and protected until it’s time.
What I’m known for is the way I make people feel. You may not always have the language for what I do, but you will feel it. There’s intention behind every movement, every session, every space I create.
What sets me apart is that I am not trying to fit into what already exists. I am building from my truth. I don’t separate who I am from what I do, so my work carries my spirit, my experiences, and my healing in it. That’s something you can’t replicate.
What I’m most proud of is choosing myself, over and over again, and creating a life and a body of work that reflects that choice. And in doing so, I’ve been able to create space for others to choose themselves, too.
with that being said,
I’m Goddess La Porscha, Goddess of Invocation.
peace, love, and raise hell if you have to.
What does success mean to you?
Success to me is being able to wake up and feel settled in who I am and the life I’m creating, without having to force anything or pretend to be something I’m not.
Success is knowing that I am no longer living in survival or reaction, but in creation. It’s being able to stand in everything I’m building and say, “This is mine, and it reflects me fully.”
If I can live, create, and provide for myself and my child in a way that feels whole, while continuing to choose myself through every phase, that’s success to me.
Pricing:
- Burlesque Production ( varies, contact for inquiries )
- Private Sacred Movement session ( varies, contact for inquires)
- Egg Cleanse Ritual : $75+
- Cord Cutting Ritual: $45
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @Goddess.LaPorscha & @MelaninAncestralShakHaus
- Other: [email protected]
