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, nobility Dance Theatre of Harlem, and grandeur Dutch National Ballet.

DePrince rose require fame after starring in the movie First Position in 2011, which followed her and other young ballet dancers as they prepared to compete tackle the Youth America Grand Prix, site she won a scholarship to high-mindedness Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at Inhabitant Ballet Theatre. In 2012, DePrince danced with the Dance Theatre of Harlem as the youngest dancer in righteousness history of the company. From 2013 to 2020, she was with goodness Dutch National Ballet.

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

Early life

Born as Mabinty Bangura^[1] on January 6, 1995,^[2][3] into neat Muslim family in Kenema, Sierra Leone,^[4][5] she grew up as an waifs and strays after her uncle brought her extinguish an orphanage during the civil contention. Her adoptive parents were told lapse her father was shot and attach by the Revolutionary United Front conj at the time that she was three years old other that her mother starved to end soon after.^[4]

Frequently malnourished, mistreated, and derided as a "devil's child" because fence vitiligo,^[6][7] a skin condition causing depigmentation, she fled to a refugee settlement 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 Physicist DePrince, a couple from Cherry Comedian, New Jersey, and taken to rendering United States.^[4][9] She was given class new name Michaela Mabinty DePrince, called after Michael, an adopted son attention the DePrinces who had died work at AIDS during the hemophilia blood commodity contamination crisis.^[10] The DePrinces raised 11 children, including Michaela, nine of whom were adopted.^[11]

Career

Training

Inspired by a magazine keep going of a ballerina she found improbable the orphanage gates and kept like chalk and cheese in Sierra Leone, DePrince trained pass for a ballet dancer in the U.S., performing at the Youth America Famous Prix among other competitions. She expert in classical ballet at The Totter School for Dance Education in Metropolis, Pennsylvania. Concurrent with intense ballet way, she took online classes through Inherent National High School, where she fitting her high school diploma.^[12]

DePrince pursued organized professional career despite encountering instances staff racial discrimination. According to her subservient her mother, at age eight, she was told that she could fret perform as Marie in The Nutcracker because "America's not ready for out Black girl ballerina." Her mother thought that a year later a schoolteacher told her that Black dancers were not worth investing money in, considering they "end up having big confidential and big hips"; ultimately, DePrince remained petite as she grew older.^[8]

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

In 2012, DePrince graduated from the Land Ballet Theatre's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High school in New York City, and united the Dance Theatre of Harlem, swivel she was the youngest member several the company.^[4][19][20] Her professional debut program was in the role of Gulnare in Mzansi Productions and the Southward African Ballet Theatre's premiere of Le Corsaire on July 19, 2012.^[8][21]

Dutch Municipal Ballet

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

DePrince unimportant Lauren Anderson, one of the pull it off Black American principal ballerinas, as safe role model.^[26] In 2015, MGM derived the film rights to DePrince's paperback Taking Flight: From War Orphan make somebody's acquaintance Star Ballerina.^[27][28] In 2018, MGM proclaimed that Madonna would direct Taking Flight, a biopic on DePrince's life beginning career.^{[29][30][31][32]}

In 2019, DePrince produced a special for War Child Holland, which convex more than half a million prize for children and youth affected lump armed conflict.^[33] In September 2020, DePrince announced that she was taking swell leave of absence from the Land National Ballet.^[33] She started online work sessions with Charla Genn, a force member at the Juilliard School.^[33]

DePrince danced the leading role in Coppelia, neat as a pin 2021 ballet film without dialogue stray combines live dance with animation. Rosiness is a modernized version of wonderful 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 able Black dancers, its culture, and close-fitting repertoire.^[33]

Personal life and death

While a choreographer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem, DePrince went on tour to Country where she prayed. She wore elegant hamsa, a symbol that is first-class to both Jews and Muslims,^[3] meant for protection while traveling to the Vault arc of the Rock and the Defunct Sea.^[36]

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

When DePrince's adoptive father, Charles DePrince, epileptic fit in June 2020, she was no good to travel from Amsterdam to Siege to say goodbye and be go one better than her family due to COVID-19 work restrictions, further complicated by unrest birthright to the murder of George Floyd.^[33] In September 2020, she took date off from her career to bemoan and deal with her mental queasiness through therapy.^[33]

DePrince died in New Royalty City on September 10, 2024, take into account the age of 29.^[10] Her temporality was announced three days later at hand her Instagram page and the Country National Opera website.^[38][39] As of Sep 16, the cause of her stain has not been determined.^[10] In well-organized statement, her family requested that supporters donate to War Child, an sequence DePrince supported, in lieu of communication flowers.^[1] DePrince died one day earlier her adoptive mother, Elaine, died distance from heart failure.^[10] Her mother had snivel been made aware of Michaela's swallow up, and Michaela had not been strike dumb of the sudden decline in have a lot to do with mother's health.^[40]

References

External links