Trailblazing Ballerina Michaela Mabinty Deprince Dies at 29

Michaela Mabinty DePrince, a pioneer and inspiration to many in the ballet industry, died at the age of 29, a representative confirmed on her Instagram profile on Friday. No cause of death has been disclosed.

"Her life was one defined by grace, purpose, and strength," the caption said. "Her steadfast dedication to her art, humanitarian initiatives, and bravery in overcoming insurmountable obstacles will continue to inspire us. She served as a light of hope for many, demonstrating that beauty and grandeur can emerge from the darkest of circumstances.

DePrince's family issued a statement after her death.

"I am very shocked and saddened. Mia DePrince wrote: "My beautiful sister is no longer here." "From the beginning of our tale in Africa, while we were sleeping on a sharing mat at the orphanage, Michaela (Mabinty) and I would create and perform our own musical theater performances. We made our own ballets... When we were adopted , our parents poured into our aspirations, resulting in the beautiful, elegantly powerful dancer that many of you know today.

DePrince, born Mabinty Bangura in Sierra Leone, was committed to an orphanage at the age of three when both of her parents were killed in the country's civil conflict. In 2012, she informed the Associated Press that she was mistreated and malnourished at the orphanage.  

"I lost both my parents, so I was there [the orphanage] for about a year and I wasn't treated very well because I had vitiligo," she told me at the time. "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 and what not."

After learning that the orphanage would be bombarded, DePrince reportedly trekked several kilometers without shoes to a refugee camp. Her mother, who met DePrince and two other daughters, including Mia, in Ghana in 1999 and adopted them from the orphanage, claimed Michaela was "sick and traumatized by the war" with tonsillitis, fever, mononucleosis, and swollen joints. DePrince was fourth when he was adopted and sent to the United States.  

Her interest in ballet started as a little kid in Sierra Leone, when she saw a photograph of a ballerina. Despite starting ballet training at the age of five, DePrince faced challenges. She was informed at the age of eight that the United States was not ready for a Black female dancer, despite being cast as Marie in The Nutcracker. When she was nine, a teacher informed her mother that Black girls weren't worth investing in.  

DePrince ultimately enrolled in the Rock School for Dance Education, a famous and exclusive ballet school.  

At 17, she appeared in First Position, a documentary about six dancers preparing for the Youth America Grand Prix. She was awarded a scholarship to study at American Ballet Theatre's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet. After graduating from high school, DePrince worked at the Dance Theater of Harlem, where he became the youngest main dancer in the company's history.  

In 2012, she made her professional ballet debut in South Africa. The next year, she joined the Dutch National Ballet's junior company.