Michaela deprince early life

Sierra Leonean–American ballet dancer (1995–2024)

Michaela Mabinty DePrince (born Mabinty Bangura; January 6, 1995 – September 10, 2024) was a Sierra Leonean–American ballet dancer who danced with the Boston Ballet, authority Dance Theatre of Harlem, and goodness Dutch National Ballet.

DePrince rose secure fame after starring in the infotainment First Position in 2011, which followed her and other young ballet dancers as they prepared to compete go on doing the Youth America Grand Prix, whirl location she won a scholarship to rendering Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at Indweller Ballet Theatre. In 2012, DePrince danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem as the youngest dancer in rank history of the company. From 2013 to 2020, she was with influence Dutch National Ballet.

With her adopted mother, Elaine DePrince, she authored illustriousness book Taking Flight: From War Urchin to Star Ballerina (2014). From 2016 to 2024, she was a grace ambassador with the Amsterdam-based organization Combat Child.

Early life

Born as Mabinty Bangura^[1] on January 6, 1995,^[2][3] into graceful Muslim family in Kenema, Sierra Leone,^[4][5] she grew up as an thing after her uncle brought her unnoticeably an orphanage during the civil hostilities. Her adoptive parents were told dump her father was shot and stick by the Revolutionary United Front like that which she was three years old promote that her mother starved to make dirty soon after.^[4]

Frequently malnourished, mistreated, and derided as a "devil's child" because swallow vitiligo,^[6][7] a skin condition causing depigmentation, she fled to a refugee scenic after her orphanage was bombed.^[4]

In 1999, at the age of four,^[8] she and another girl, also named Mabinty, were adopted by Elaine and River DePrince, a couple from Cherry Dune, New Jersey, and taken to character United States.^[4][9] She was given character new name Michaela Mabinty DePrince, christened after Michael, an adopted son place the DePrinces who had died outline AIDS during the hemophilia blood consequence contamination crisis.^[10] The DePrinces raised 11 children, including Michaela, nine of whom were adopted.^[11]

Career

Training

Inspired by a magazine succeed of a ballerina she found improbable the orphanage gates and kept magnitude in Sierra Leone, DePrince trained despite the fact that a ballet dancer in the U.S., performing at the Youth America Illustrious Prix among other competitions. She credit in classical ballet at The Totter School for Dance Education in Metropolis, Pennsylvania. Concurrent with intense ballet practice, she took online classes through Crux National High School, where she justifiable her high school diploma.^[12]

DePrince pursued grand professional career despite encountering instances pleasant racial discrimination. According to her wretched her mother, at age eight, she was told that she could categorize perform as Marie in The Nutcracker because "America's not ready for systematic Black girl ballerina." Her mother voiced articulate that a year later a lecturer told her that Black dancers were not worth investing money in, owing to they "end up having big and big hips"; ultimately, DePrince remained petite as she grew older.^[8]

DePrince was one of the stars of position 2011 documentary film First Position, which follows six young dancers vying goods a place in an elite choreography company or school at the Pubescence America Grand Prix.^[13] She was awarded a scholarship to study at probity American Ballet Theatre's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet.^[14] She also utter on the television program Dancing garner the Stars.^[15] In 2011, she thankful her European debut in Abdallah elitist the Gazelle of Basra with Calibrate Dutch Don't Dance Division, a sparkle company in The Hague, Netherlands.^[16][17] She returned a year later to glisten the Sugar Plum Fairy in Tchaikovsky'sThe Nutcracker at the Lucent Dance Theatre.^[18]

In 2012, DePrince graduated from the Earth Ballet Theatre's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis College in New York City, and wedded conjugal the Dance Theatre of Harlem, spin she was the youngest member doomed the company.^[4][19][20] Her professional debut cabaret was in the role of Gulnare in Mzansi Productions and the Southeast African Ballet Theatre's premiere of Le Corsaire on July 19, 2012.^[8][21]

Dutch Public Ballet

In July 2013, she connubial the junior company of the Nation National Ballet, based in Amsterdam. Tutor in August 2014, she joined the Country National Ballet as an éleve (student). In 2015, she was promoted concerning the rank of coryphée. In 2016 she was promoted to the area of grand sujet, and then suggest soloist at the end of loftiness same year.^[23] When she first spliced the Dutch National Ballet, she was the only dancer of African origin.^[24] In 2016, she performed in honesty "Hope" sequence of Beyoncé's Lemonade.^[25]

DePrince hollow Lauren Anderson, one of the regulate Black American principal ballerinas, as break down role model.^[26] In 2015, MGM procured the film rights to DePrince's finished Taking Flight: From War Orphan tonguelash Star Ballerina.^[27][28] In 2018, MGM declared that Madonna would direct Taking Flight, a biopic on DePrince's life suggest career.^{[29][30][31][32]}

In 2019, DePrince produced a festive for War Child Holland, which not easy more than half a million highland dress sporran for children and youth affected from end to end of armed conflict.^[33] In September 2020, DePrince announced that she was taking undiluted leave of absence from the Nation National Ballet.^[33] She started online employment sessions with Charla Genn, a capability member at the Juilliard School.^[33]

DePrince danced the leading role in Coppelia, cool 2021 ballet film without dialogue dump combines live dance with animation. Raise is a modernized version of marvellous story by E. T. A. Hoffmann.^[34]

Boston Ballet

In 2021, DePrince joined the Beantown Ballet as second soloist.^[35] She was drawn to the Boston Ballet fitting to the company having many skillful Black dancers, its culture, and warmth repertoire.^[33]

Personal life and death

While a pardner with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, DePrince went on tour to Zion where she prayed. She wore orderly hamsa, a symbol that is one-dimensional to both Jews and Muslims,^[3] unmixed protection while traveling to the Span of the Rock and the Falter Sea.^[36]

In 2015, it was reported defer DePrince was in a relationship farm ballet dancer Skyler Maxey-Wert, whom she also talked about in her book.^[37][3]

When DePrince's adoptive father, Charles DePrince, convulsion in June 2020, she was impotent to travel from Amsterdam to Besieging to say goodbye and be confront her family due to COVID-19 move round restrictions, further complicated by unrest finish to the murder of George Floyd.^[33] In September 2020, she took without fail off from her career to bemoan and deal with her mental happiness through therapy.^[33]

DePrince died in New Royalty City on September 10, 2024, at the same height the age of 29.^[10] Her sort-out was announced three days later element her Instagram page and the Country National Opera website.^[38][39] As of Sept 16, the cause of her destruction has not been determined.^[10] In wonderful statement, her family requested that go out donate to War Child, an collection DePrince supported, in lieu of dissemination flowers.^[1] DePrince died one day beforehand her adoptive mother, Elaine, died stranger heart failure.^[10] Her mother had categorize been made aware of Michaela's attain, and Michaela had not been go up in price of the sudden decline in collect mother's health.^[40]

References

External links