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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Watters says his success was inspired by the trailblazers who came before him, including legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
For Watters, being named to this year’s iconic Out100 list is a longtime dream.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n