Boundary-breaking ballet star rises to fame on stage & social media

“We had been within the gymnasium, and so we had been identical to, might you think about if we simply ran on the treadmill with these? How humorous would that be?” Harper mentioned.

He and a good friend strapped them on and recorded a 52-second video, performing ballet routines on the treadmill. The video shortly went viral on Instagram, racking up over a million views. For Harper, it was a second of realization.

“I consciously continued to create content material that was genuine to me and would attain different individuals,” he mentioned. “I might use these heeled movies to deliver individuals into my world after which I might share my world as a black, queer dancer.”

He started sharing his life as a dancer on his YouTube Sequence, The Pre-Present, which takes viewers backstage and offers them a glimpse contained in the world {of professional} ballet.

“It was this actual peek behind the scenes that was actually lovely and I am actually, actually grateful for these moments,” he mentioned.

For Harper, dance has at all times offered an outlet for him to be his genuine self.

“I am at the moment the highest-ranked black dancer on this firm,” he mentioned. “I really feel like I can say that as a result of I advocated for myself. I needed to take pleasure in who I used to be as an individual. I needed to take pleasure in who I’m as a dancer. I needed to take pleasure in who I’m as a black individual. By doing that, by taking good care of my dancing, by taking good care of my identification, by taking good care of my gender, my dancing grew to become higher.”

Earlier this 12 months, Watters made historical past together with his principal position within the three-act ballet Sylvia.

“I am simply so lucky and I am grateful for this, for the chance to steer a ballet as a black individual, as a queer individual – as a result of that simply would not occur,” he mentioned.

For extra on Harper’s journey, observe him on Instagram or YouTube.