Michaela Mabinty DePrince, a Sierra Leonean war orphan turned ballerina, passed away suddenly on Sept. 10 at the age of 29. Her cause of death has not been revealed, but there has been an outpouring of reflections on the inspirational legacy she left behind.
DePrince’s story gained attention after being featured in the 2011 documentary “First Position.” Following the documentary, DePrince’s ballet career skyrocketed, and she went on to dance for the Dance Theatre of Harlem and the Dutch National Ballet.
In 2012, DePrince continued to advance her career, publishing her memoir “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina” which she co-wrote with her adoptive mother. In 2016, DePrince was featured in Beyoncé’s music video “Freedom.” In 2021, she began dancing as a second soloist at the Boston Ballet, leaving the company at the start of 2024.
“She was an advocate for what ballet can be, as a much bigger art form and a much bigger source of inspiration and hope for people,” Boston Ballet Executive Director Ming Min Hui said in a statement. “She was brave in being willing to share not only her artistry but also her story with the world.”
DePrince’s rise to stardom came from rough beginnings. She was born on Jan. 6, 1995 as Mabinty Bangura to loving parents in the midst of a civil war in Sierra Leone. When her father died, DePrince and her birth mother moved in with her abusive uncle. When her birth mother died of malnutrition, DePrince was sent to an orphanage where she was given the nickname “devil’s child” because of her vitiligo, a skin condition that made her skin appear spotted.
Of the 27 children at the orphanage, DePrince was labeled No. 27, marking her as the least desirable child due to her skin condition. While at the orphanage, 3-year-old DePrince witnessed the tragedies of war, including the murder of her pregnant teacher.
But amid the horror was hope. In her memoir, DePrince describes when she found a Dance Magazine cover in the orphanage. From that moment, she dreamed of being a ballerina like the one in the cover photo.
As soon as DePrince was adopted by Elaine and Charles DePrince in 1999, she begged to be enrolled in ballet classes. The DePrince’s had a long history of adoptions and Michaela DePrince was renamed and adopted in honor of one of their late sons Michael. With the support of her new family, Michaela began to excel at ballet and started her pre-professional training.
“You could see her determination — she’d take first position at the barre, and you knew she was there to prove herself.” Mariaelena Ruiz, ballet master of the Rock School, told Pointe Magazine.
DePrince’s death was confirmed by her adoptive siblings Mia and Erik DePrince. In the following days, DePrince’s siblings also confirmed that their adoptive mother, Elaine DePrince, had passed away just a day later during a procedure. She was not aware of her daughter’s death at the time of her passing.
Reposts of DePrince dancing accompanied with dedications and anecdotes filled dancers’ Instagram feeds in the days following her death. The overall message was clear: DePrince’s willingness to share the details of her story from struggle to success inspired many young dancers over the last two decades.
“Just watching someone overcome their fears and be able to dance so beautifully was really inspiring,” Tufts student and ballet dancer Sarah Garrett said. “I was never the best dancer in class, and so that was really nice to see.”
Along with her struggles of overcoming wartime trauma, DePrince also had to overcome the racial discrimination that is all too ingrained in ballet. Black dancers have been historically underrepresented in ballet because of the art’s deep roots in white European culture. DePrince was an advocate for change and increased diversity in ballet.
“To me, she held up a mirror to everyone she encountered, causing them to look inward, see themselves and love that reflection coming back at them or at other times, consider better alternatives to the way we communicate with and love one another,” My’Kal Stromile, a dancer at the Boston Ballet, told Pointe Magazine. “It is my desire to continue walking the path she cultivated.”
DePrince had dedicated a lot of her life to improving childhood mental health support in war zones. Her family has asked that instead of flowers, all donations be sent to War Child, a non-government organization for which DePrince was an ambassador. War Child is dedicated to providing psychosocial support to children in conflict-affected areas. In her resting, she will accomplish the same purpose she lived for: creating change through both her inspiring background and brilliant dancing.
