HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — The 2026 Out100 list hit newsstands this week, celebrating the nation’s most impactful and influential LGBTQ people. This year, a barrier-breaking ballet star from Houston is among those named on the prestigious list.
Harper Watters is the first black male principal dancer in Houston Ballet history. He first joined the nation’s fourth-largest ballet company over 15 years ago, rising through the ranks from apprentice to principal, the highest achievement a dancer can reach.
Watters says his success was inspired by the trailblazers who came before him, including legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey.
“As a child, I was obsessed with performance and I would force my parents to watch me do routines in the living room,” said Watters. “At no point did I think that passion could turn into a profession until I saw Alvin Ailey. It was the first time that I saw people like me doing things that I wanted to do. Alvin Ailey really was the permission slip for me to say, I think I can try becoming a dancer.”
While he’s made a big name for himself on stage, he’s also become a social media sensation, with hundreds of thousands of followers on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. He even went viral for performing ballet routines on a treadmill.
“Because of how I look, because of who I am, because of what I stand for, I really use my social media as that tool to reach new audiences and to share who I am,” said Watters. “To allow people to see that you do not have to dim your light in order to have the goals that you see for yourself become reality.”
For Watters, being named to this year’s iconic Out100 list is a longtime dream.
“Being on this year’s Out100, and being honored, is incredible,” he said. “I’m really inspired to continue the work and to keep showing up for myself because I know that that’s what it means to be on this list.”
To see Harper Watters’ Out100 profile and the full 2026 Out100 list, visit out.com/out100.
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