Harper Watters, the Houston Ballet star who made history as the company's first Black principal dancer, has been named to the 2026 Out100 list. The recognition lands less than two years after his landmark promotion and caps a career built on viral social-media moments and a very public mission to make ballet look like the world around it.
Watters called the honor incredible, saying he was inspired to continue his work and keep showing up for himself, according to ABC13 Houston. The annual Out100 list celebrates the nation's most impactful and influential LGBTQ people, and this year's edition hit newsstands the week of October 23. Watters described his inclusion on the list as a longtime dream, per the station's report.
From Corps de Ballet to the Company's Top Rank
Watters joined Houston Ballet II in 2009 and entered the main company as an apprentice in 2011, the same year he placed sixth overall and won the contemporary dance award at the Prix de Lausanne Ballet Competition, according to Houston Ballet. He climbed steadily through the company's ranks over the following decade — corps de ballet in 2012, demi soloist in 2016, soloist in 2017 and first soloist in 2021 — before his promotion to principal in spring 2025, the company's official dancer biography states.
Principal dancer is considered the highest achievement a dancer can reach, the same report notes. That milestone made Watters Houston Ballet's first-ever Black principal dancer, a distinction confirmed by Out, while Black Enterprise reported he became the company's first Black and gay principal dancer. Black Enterprise also noted that Misty Copeland previously became the first Black woman named female principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, a comparable barrier broken in a different company.
A Childhood Obsession and an Early Role Model
As a child, Watters was obsessed with performing and made his parents watch his living-room routines, per ABC13's reporting. He has said his success was inspired by trailblazers including choreographer Alvin Ailey, and that seeing Ailey's work showed him his passion could become a profession. Watters has described Ailey as the permission slip that let him consider becoming a dancer, the station reported.
Out's profile adds further context to that lineage of influence, naming Albert Evans, Desmond Richardson and Destiny's Child among Watters's other major inspirations. Watters grew up in Dover, New Hampshire, and began his formal dance training at the Walnut Hill School for the Arts, according to Ballet Herald. In a separate interview, Watters told Dance Magazine, “Dance has given me the courage to embrace my identity.”
Treadmill Fame and a Following in the Hundreds of Thousands
Long before the Out100 nod, Watters built a reputation well beyond the Houston Ballet stage by going viral for performing ballet routines on a treadmill, a signature bit that helped him amass hundreds of thousands of followers across platforms including TikTok and Instagram, per ABC13. At the time Texas Monthly profiled him, he had nearly 250,000 Instagram followers and another 470,000 on TikTok.
Watters has said he uses social media to reach new audiences and share who he is, and that people need not dim their light to make their goals reality, according to ABC13's account. He has also said he wants to create new opportunities for the next generation of queer dancers to perform at their highest abilities while staying authentic, Out reported. Black Enterprise similarly reported that Watters hopes his new position will open up opportunities for others like him, pushing for greater diversity in the industry.
