Born in Sierra Leone, DePrince moved to the US as a child, danced with the Boston Ballet and appeared in Beyoncé music videos
Michaela DePrince, the pioneering ballerina and inspiration to many in the ballet world, has died at the age of just 29, she announced on her Instagram page on Friday. No cause of death has yet been reported.
" Her life was defined by grace, purpose and strength," the caption read. “Her unwavering commitment to her art, her humanitarian efforts and her courage to overcome unimaginable challenges will forever inspire us. She stood as a beacon of hope for many, showing that no matter the obstacles, beauty and greatness can emerge from the darkest places."
DePrince's family released a statement following the announcement of her death.
"I am truly in a state of shock and deep sadness. My beautiful sister is no longer here ," wrote Mia DePrince. " Since the beginning of our story in Africa, we slept on a shared mattress in the orphanage, Michaela and I made our own musical plays and performed them. We were creating our own ballets… When we were adopted, our parents quickly realized our dreams and discovered the beautiful and strong ballerina that so many of you know today. It was an inspiration."
Born in Sierra Leone, DePrince was sent to an orphanage at the age of three after both her parents died in the country's civil war. At the orphanage, she experienced abuse and malnutrition, she told The Associated Press in 2012.
"I lost both my parents, so I was there [the orphanage] for about a year and they didn't treat me very well because I had vitiligo," she said.
After the news that the orphanage would be bombed, DePrince described walking barefoot for several kilometers until she reached a refugee camp.
Her mother, who adopted her and two other girls, including Mia, from the orphanage after meeting them in Ghana in 1999, said Michaela was "sick and war-torn", with tonsillitis, fever, mononucleosis and swollen joints. DePrince was four when she was adopted and moved to the United States.
Her passion for ballet began as a child in Sierra Leone after seeing a photograph of a ballerina.
At 17, she appeared in First Position, a documentary that follows six dancers as they prepare for the Youth America Grand Prix. She received a scholarship to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Ballet School of the American Ballet Theatre. After graduating from high school, DePrince worked at the Dance Theater of Harlem, becoming the youngest principal dancer in the theater's history.
In 2012 she performed in her first professional full ballet in South Africa. The following year, he joined the youth company of the Dutch National Ballet.
Audiences unfamiliar with ballet may remember DePrince from Beyonce's Lemonade, in which the then-21-year-old dances in an old-fashioned tutu and headpiece. In 2021, she joined the Boston Ballet as second soloist. That year, he played the title role in the ballet film Coppelia.
Even with her successes, DePrince still remembers her early childhood. Throughout her career, she wanted to open a dance and arts school in Sierra Leone.
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