FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) 鈥� Ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince, who came to the United States from an orphanage in war-torn and performed on some of the world's biggest stages, has died, her family said in a statement. She was 29.
鈥淢ichaela touched so many lives across the world, including ours. She was an unforgettable inspiration to everyone who knew her or heard her story,鈥� her family said in a statement posted Friday on DePrince's social media accounts. 鈥淔rom her early life in war-torn Africa, to stages and screens across the world, she achieved her dreams and so much more.鈥�
A cause of death was not provided.
DePrince was adopted by an American couple and by age 17 she had been featured in a documentary film and had performed on the TV show 鈥淒ancing With the Stars.鈥�
After graduating from high school and the American Ballet Theatre鈥檚 Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School, she became a principal dancer Dance Theatre of Harlem. She then went to the Netherlands, where she danced with the Dutch National Ballet. She later returned to the U.S. and joined the Boston Ballet in 2021.
鈥淲e鈥檙e sending our love and support to the family of Michaela Mabinty DePrince at this time of loss,鈥� the Boston Ballet said in a statement to The Associated Press on Saturday. 鈥淲e were so fortunate to know her; she was a beautiful person, a wonderful dancer, and she will be greatly missed by us all.鈥�
In her memoir, 鈥淭aking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina,鈥� she shared her journey from the orphanage to the stage. She also wrote a children's book, Ballerina Dreams.
DePrince suffered from a skin pigmentation disorder that had her labeled 鈥渢he devil鈥檚 child鈥� at the orphanage.
鈥淚 lost both my parents, so I was there (the orphanage) for about a year and I wasn鈥檛 treated very well because I had vitiligo,鈥� DePrince told the AP in . 鈥淲e 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 and whatnot.鈥�
She told added that she remembered seeing a photo of an American ballet dancer on a magazine page that had blown against the gate of the orphanage during Sierra Leone's civil war.
鈥淎ll I remember is she looked really, really happy,鈥� DePrince told the AP, adding that she wished 鈥渢o become this exact person.鈥�
She said she saw hope in that photo, 鈥渁nd I ripped the page out and I stuck it in my underwear because I didn鈥檛 have any place to put it,鈥� she said.
Her passion helped inspire young Black dancers to pursue their dreams, her family said.
鈥淲e will miss her and her gorgeous smile forever and we know you will, too,鈥� their statement said.
Her sister Mia Mabinty DePrince recalled in the statement that they slept on a shared mat in the orphanage and used to make up their own musical theater plays and ballets.
鈥淲hen we got adopted, our parents quickly poured into our dreams and arose the beautiful, gracefully strong ballerina that so many of you knew her as today. She was an inspiration,鈥� Mia DePrince wrote. 鈥淲hether she was leaping across the stage or getting on a plane and flying to third-world countries to provide orphans and children with dance classes, she was determined to conquer all her dreams in the arts and dance.鈥�
She is survived by five sisters and two brothers. The family requested that in lieu of flowers, donations could be made to , which is an organization that DePrince was involved with as a War Child Ambassador.
鈥淭his work meant the world to her, and your donations will directly help other children who grew up in an environment of armed conflict,鈥� the family statement said.
Freida Frisaro, The Associated Press
