September 18

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SUITED for SUCCESS Dancing in the digital age with Houston Ballet’s HARPER WATTERS. By Marene Gustin Photo by Ashkan Roayaee

W

atching Houston Ballet’s Harper Watters dance in a pair of pink platform shoes is poetry in motion. The 26-year-old is a YouTube sensation and socialmedia star with 147,000 followers. Now, he’s also featured in a documentary. Scott Gormley’s Danseur, now making the filmfestival rounds, came about after the filmmaker’s young son was bullied for taking ballet. The film is a real-life version of Billy Elliot, with interviews of young male ballet dancers who detail the verbal and even physical abuse they have suffered. “I reached out to the producer,” Watters says. “I just thought this sounded like a great project, and I’m really proud of the documentary.” ➝

36 | SEPTEMBER 2018 | OutSmartMagazine.com


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