Antoine Ashley (December 17, 1984 – October 1, 2012), better known by the name Sahara Davenport, was an American drag queen, singer,

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personality, and classically trained

dancer Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

. Davenport was best known as a contestant on the second season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race''.

''RuPaul's Drag Race''

Davenport appeared on the second season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race'' in 2010. She was pegged as "the dancer" when in the first episode she had to " lip-sync for her life" against Shangela, her former classmate at

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(where she earned a BFA in dance at the

Meadows School of the Arts The Algur H. Meadows School of the Arts is the fine arts unit at Southern Methodist University, located in University Park, Texas, U.S. It is known for its programs in art, art history, arts administration, cinema, performing arts, advertising, jo ...

). In the second episode, Davenport became a team leader when she and

Pandora Boxx Michael R. Steck (born May 2, 1972), better known by the stage name Pandora Boxx, is an American drag queen, comedian, and reality television personality from Rochester, New York. Boxx competed in the second season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'', pl ...

won the mini challenge. Sahara won the second episode elimination challenge by leading her team to earn the most money by pole dancing and selling Cherry Pie gift certificates on the streets of

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. In the fourth episode, Davenport gave a humorous impersonation of

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in the " Snatch Game" challenge. In the Wedding Dress episode, she was placed in the bottom two again, but remained safe with her lip sync performance to Martha Wash's "Carry On". Sahara was eliminated in the sixth episode for not conveying enough of a "rock 'n' roll" attitude and being too much of a lady. The first season of RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars aired following her death, and featured her partner, Manila Luzon, as a contestant. The first episode was dedicated to her memory. Davenport's drag sister Kennedy Davenport appeared on season 7 of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and on season 3 of '' RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars'', where she placed as runner-up. Her drag niece, Honey Davenport, placed 13th on the 11th season of ''Drag Race''.

Music

In 2011, Davenport released her second single "Go Off". A remix EP was later released on January 31, 2012, and featured a remix by Manny Lehman. "Go Off" debuted at number fifty on the ''

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Hot Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

, before peaking at number thirty five. The music video for "Go Off" features cameos by Drag Race contestants Manila Luzon and Jiggly Caliente.

Personal life and death

Davenport was born to Angela Ashley Reddish on December 17, 1984. Sahara Davenport resided in New York City with her boyfriend Karl Westerberg, a fellow drag queen who goes by the stage name Manila Luzon and who was a contestant on the third season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race.'' During her time on RuPaul's Drag Race, Davenport discussed her use of "designer drugs", such as

ketamine Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used medically for induction and maintenance of anesthesia. It is also used as a recreational drug. It is one of the safest anesthetics, as, in contrast with opiates, ether, and propofol, it suppress ...

, and how her drag mother had to help her out of her addiction. Davenport died of heart failure at

Johns Hopkins Hospital The Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. It was founded in 1889 using money from a bequest of over $7 million (1873 ...

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on October 1, 2012 at age 27.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

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Sahara Davenport
on

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Sahara 1984 births 2012 deaths African-American dancers African-American drag queens African-American male dancers American drag queens American male dancers American male pop singers American gay actors American gay musicians LGBT African Americans LGBT people from Texas LGBT singers from the United States Male actors from Dallas Musicians from Dallas Nightlife in New York City Sahara Davenport 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people African-American male singers