Michaela DePrince, war orphan-turned-star ballerina, dies at 29

Michaela DePrince, a ballerina who was born in war-torn West Africa before gaining stardom with the Dance Theatre of Harlem and performing on some of the world’s biggest stages, has died at 29.

“It is with profound sadness we announce the sudden passing of our beautiful sister, Michaela Mabinty DePrince ,” her siblings wrote in a Facebook post Friday. “Michaela touched so many lives across the world, including ours. She was an unforgettable inspiration to everyone who knew her or heard her story.”

No exact date or cause of death was given.

Born on Jan. 6, 1995, during Sierra Leone’s decade-long civil war, DePrince spent her early childhood years in an orphanage after her father was killed by rebel forces and her mother died of starvation.

“I lost both my parents, so I was [at the orphanage] for about a year and I wasn’t treated very well because I had vitiligo,” she said in a 2012 interview, noting the skin pigmentation disorder had her labeled “the devil’s child.”

“We were ranked as numbers and number 27 was the least favorite and that was my number, so I got the least amount of food, the least amount of clothes,” she explained.

In 1999, at the age of 4, DePrince was adopted by a couple from Cherry Hill, N.J., who also adopted her sister Mia. She began taking ballet classes shortly after arriving in the U.S.

In 2009, after winning the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix competition, DePrince won a full scholarship to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at New York City’s American Ballet Theatre.

Two years later, she was one of six ballet students to be featured in the award-winning documentary “First Position,” which followed young dancers competing for those elite  scholarships and contracts.

Her inspiring career soon took off with an impressive resume that included companies on both sides of the Atlantic, including the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) — where she became the company’s youngest-ever principal performer — the Dutch National Ballet in the Netherlands, and more recently at the Boston Ballet, where she was a second soloist.

DePrince, who was also an ambassador for War Child Holland , a motivational speaker and a bestselling author, was introduced to new audiences when she danced on Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” visual album in 2016 and appeared on the TV show “Dancing With the Stars.”

“Her story is one of resilience, strength, grace, and courage, ” DTH said in a statement on Friday. “Through her memoir, [2016’s] ‘Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina,’ and her follow-up book, [2017’s] ‘Ballerina Dreams,’ she solidified her impact, extending her influence far beyond the stage.”

Her “extraordinary journey … inspired countless dancers and touched the hearts of many,” the ABT School said in their own social media tribute. “Her resilience, grace, and talent left an indelible mark on the dance world.”

DePrince is survived by five sisters and two brothers.

With News Wire Services