I am always envious of people who know what they were meant to do at an early age, and today’s amazing performer is just such a lucky duck. Meet ballet dancer (and occasional fashion icon) Harper Watters, who was recently made a principal dancer with The Houston Ballet. Watters is Houston Ballet’s first African-American male principal dancer, and they chose a good one!

“When I was a kid, my parents put on a PBS broadcast of New York City Ballet performing Red Angels, and, suddenly, there he was: Albert. Someone who looked like me, doing exactly what I dreamed of doing. I definitely wasn’t lacking in the passion category… I just needed the permission to harness the passion I had. That came in the form of Albert—and Alvin Ailey, and Arthur Mitchell, and Lauren Anderson, trailblazers who said, Yes, you can be a dancer.” -Harper Watters interview with Dance Magazine

Watters is as well known for his YouTube vlog The Pre Show as he is for his ballet. And since coming out at the age of 14, he has also served as a role model for queer dancers of color everywhere. He is always unabashedly himself, and I think he’s just lovely.

You can follow the ever-entertaining Harper Watters on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook.