SUPPORT THE "THE ANTOINE ASHLEY STORY" DOCUMENTARY WITH A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION

by Sahara Davenport Productions

The Antoine Ashley Story is a feature length documentary film, which looks at the life and legacy of Antoine Ashley, a.k.a. Sahara Davenport.

This is a story of Antoine’s life, during which he demonstrated his deep faith, and belief in God to his mother Angela, especially in his final days, as he prayed, prophesied and found redemption.

Told through the eyes of those who knew him best, this is the story of the journey Antoine took to become a Broadway dancer, and along the way, finding his alter ego, Sahara Davenport, who profoundly influenced so many others.

Antoine Starts to Dance

Antoine was 4 years old living in Aiken, South Carolina, When Michael Jackson moonwalked across the stage in his legendary Motown 25 performance. This performance, and this man, changed his life. He spent the rest of his childhood imitating Michael and any other dancer he saw performing on television. Antoine was obsessed with dance, and was not afraid to test or demonstrate his abilities at any family, church, or school function. Of course, living in the South, boys were not supposed to entertain while doing spins, turns, or cart-wheels. Ten years later his family moved to Gaithersburg, MD. Although he moved to a new city, he was still up to the same old tricks (kicking and spinning a la Michael). One night, after competing in a high school talent show in 9th grade, he met Bonnie Slawson. The choreographer and studio owner immediately recognized his talent, and after meeting with his mother and discussing his raw talent and potential, Bonnie gave him a scholarship to study dance with her. When he was ready to go to college, he auditioned for many scholarships, and he faired pretty well, and was named Maryland Distinguished Scholar in the Arts, and received a ''Duke Ellington Award'' as well. This would allow him to attend any institution in the state of Maryland free of charge, but in the process of looking at various college dance programs, Bonnie helped him to get a full scholarship at SMU in Dallas, studying under Joe Orlando.

A Word from Angela Ashley, Antoine's Mother
My son, Antoine Ashley, the Superstar, began dancing as a little boy. He started dancing with the dancers on Solid Gold as he watched the show. From then on he watched Michael Jackson performing and suddenly start learning his moves. Antoine was awarded a scholarship for classical dancing at SMU in Dallas, Texas. As a Baptist minister, I was sitting home watching television and talking on the telephone with a church mother, and suddenly I saw my son on Ru Paul’s Drag Race. It was an “aha” moment and I said to my parishioner, “you won’t believe this, my son is on television on Ru Paul’s Drag Race”! She said not to worry it’s only entertainment, leave him alone and let him make his money. Immediately, I called Antoine and he stated, “Mom it’s only entertainment and I’m not going any further with this”. I told him you are an adult and you know what you are doing. So you can imagine, as a Baptist minister, how shocking this was, because this was my beloved son.

I sent my son to SMU to obtain training as a classical dancer. Due to the college being Methodist, I thought he would also continue his education in a Christian environment. Instead, Antoine was drawn into what turned out to be a very strong drag community in Dallas. All I could do at this point was to go to God in prayer for guidance. It led me to realize that no matter what, Antoine was still my only child, blessed with his talent by God.

Antoine Pursues Dance as a Profession

Antoine travelled the world dancing for various Disney productions, and it was during his college years that he decided to participate in performing in drag, and became the female impersonator, Sahara Davenport. His ultimate goal, however, was to become a broadway dancer, and practice the craft of drag performance for extra income.

Sahara was a contestant on Season 2 of Ru Paul's Drag Race with a remarkable appearance, and her career blossomed after that. Sahara was featured in A&E Network's 15 Films about Madonna, Voom HD's Magnificent Obsessions, and ABC's daytime soap One Life To Live. Sahara also had a successful self produced broadway show titled Sahara with a HA.

Antoine and Karl

Karl Philip Michael Westerberg AKA MANILA LUZON

Sahara's Partner, Executive Producer of The Antoine Ashley Story

Contestant on RuPaul's Drag Race

Antoine and Karl Philip Michael Westerberg, aka MANILA LUZON, became partners in 2006. Antoine introduced Angela to Karl shortly thereafter, and it became a moment of deep reflection for Angela in her faith journey as a minister. Sahara and Manila performed together throughout the world and Manila later also became a contestant on Ru Paul’s Drag Race.

Sahara signed with Gomination and released music videos for her hit songs ''Pump With Me'' and ''Go Off', and was 35th on the Billboard charts. Sahara had gotten herself involved in many different areas of the entertainment industry, from music, to film, to live performances, which helped her develop into the talented singer she was.

Our Hopes for this Film

Antoine became ill in 2012 and passed away at the age of 32, but his influence on people who went on to compete on the Ru Paul's Drag Race and even win it, lives on. Antoine/Sahara gave the best with all that was within himself and his alter-ego during his lifetime. This project is a part of all of us whom he cared so much about and loved so dearly. By making this documentary, we hope to bring awareness to the following causes, and to the goals we have for honoring Antoine. We want to provide funding to:

1. Create a faith-based performing arts center where young performers can thrive.
2. Provide services for "crisis in the community" for individuals and their health and wellness.
3. Provide underprivileged youth with scholarships in dance and entertainment.
4. Collaborate with organizations to provide housing for people who are struggling to become artists, entertainers, and dancers throughout the nation.

The Team

The people involved in this project with Angela Ashley bring a tremendous amount of talent and expertise to the project.

Angela Ashley - Executive Producer/Writer

Grant Slawson - Producer/Director

Karl Philip Michael Westerberg - Executive Producer

Dean Cundey - Cinematographer

Bonnie Slawson - Creative Producer

Ryan Slawson - Editor

Budget

Our budget is for a feature length film (approximately 80 minutes). As soon as we reach the $45,000 point in our campaign, we will start our production with scheduling and securing rights for pictures, music and video. It will be filmed on Arri cameras, in various locations across the US, including, New York, L.A., South Carolina, Washington, DC., and finished as a production formatted for theatrical release. The schedule for pre-production, production and post production spans12 months, with filming taking 2-3 months. The budget includes securing rights for video, film and music clips from various sources, as well as original music being composed and recorded for the film.

We will be posting our progress in reports and pictures on Facebook and here at this site as soon as we start work. We take our responsibility for your investment in this project very seriously, and we will not rest until we bring a film to the screen that not only honors Antoine, but makes you proud to have been a part of the journey.

Please Support The Antoine Ashley Story with a Tax-Deductible Donation!