Ballet pioneer and inspirational dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince has died at the age of 29, her publicist announced on her Instagram page on Friday. The cause of death has not yet been released.
“Her life was defined by grace, purpose and strength.” The caption read: “Her unwavering dedication to her art, her humanitarian work and her courage in overcoming unimaginable odds will forever inspire us. She was a beacon of hope to so many, showing us that beauty and greatness can come from the darkest places, no matter the obstacles.”
DePrince's family released a statement following the announcement of her death.
“I am absolutely shocked and deeply saddened. My beautiful sister is no longer here.” Her sister, Mia DePrince, wrote: “From the beginning of our story in Africa, sleeping on shared mats in an orphanage, Michaela (Mabinty) and I were creating and performing our own musical plays. We created our own ballets… Once we were adopted, our parents immediately committed to our dreams and we grew up to be the beautiful, graceful and strong ballerinas that many of you know today. She was an inspiration.”
Born Mabinty Bangura in Sierra Leone, DePrince was sent to an orphanage at age 3 after her parents died in the country's civil war, where she said she suffered abuse and malnutrition, in part because she had vitiligo. The Associated Press reported in 2012.
“Since I lost my parents, [the orphanage] “I wasn't treated very well for about a year because I had vitiligo,” she said at the time. “We were ranked by numbers and number 27 was the most hated and that was my number, so I had the least food and clothing.”
DePrince said she walked miles without shoes to reach a refugee camp after receiving word that the orphanage was going to be bombed. Michaela was “sick and traumatized by the war,” said her adoptive mother, who adopted DePrince and Mia, along with two other girls, from the orphanage after meeting them in Ghana in 1999. She suffered from tonsillitis, fevers, mononucleosis and swollen joints. DePrince was adopted to the United States when she was 4 years old.
DePrince's love of ballet began when she saw pictures of ballerinas as a young girl in Sierra Leone. But despite starting her ballet training at age 5, DePrince still faced challenges. At age 8, she was chosen to play Marie in the Nutcracker, but was told America wasn't ready for a black girl ballerina. At age 9, a teacher told her mother that black girls weren't worth the investment.
DePrince eventually enrolled at the prestigious and highly selective ballet school, The Rock School for Dance Education.
At age 17, she appeared in “First Position,” a documentary following six dancers as they prepared for the Youth America Grand Prix. She won a scholarship to study at the American Ballet Theatre's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet. After high school, DePrince worked with Dance Theatre 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 she joined the Dutch National Ballet's junior company.
Audiences unfamiliar with ballet may be surprised by Beyoncé's lemonade, She was 21 years old at the time and danced in a traditional tutu and headpiece. She joined the Boston Ballet as a second soloist in 2021. That same year, she Coppeliaa ballet film.
At Boston Ballet, DePrince told reporters how the black dancers who came before her inspired her, despite experiencing racism and xenophobia.
“I'm very lucky,” DePrince said. I said at the time“There was Lauren Anderson. There were people I looked up to. Houston Ballet. Heidi Cruz at Pennsylvania Ballet when she was younger. There's Misty Copeland. There aren't many of us. But something I always try to think about and am passionate about is putting more poppies in the daffodil fields and getting more black and brown dancers.”
Despite her success, DePrince never forgot her childhood: she became a humanitarian and expressed a desire to open a dance and arts school in Sierra Leone during her career.
“It's wonderful. I would love to open a school with the money I make from this book,” DePrince told The Guardian in 2015. “When I retire from dancing, I will. Art can change people. Dance helped me share emotions and connect with my family. It helped me feel special and not 'the devil's child.' Those kids don't have the same opportunities I did, and I don't think they deserve them.”
She spent much of her career advocating for and promoting access to ballet for black dancers.
“There are so few black people in ballet, so I have to speak up,” she told The Guardian.
DePrince's family is asking for donations in lieu of flowers. Children of War, An organization that DePrince supported.
“This work has been invaluable to her and your donation will directly help other children growing up in environments of armed conflict,” they wrote. “Thank you.”
