Sierra Leonean ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, known for her performances on Dancing with the Stars and Beyoncé’s Lemonade music video album, passed away on Friday at the age of 29, her family announced.
The news of her death was first shared on her personal Instagram page and later confirmed by her family in a joint statement on Facebook. No cause of death was provided.
“It is with profound sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beautiful sister, Michaela Mabinty DePrince. Michaela touched so many lives across the world, including ours. She was an unforgettable inspiration to everyone who knew her or heard her story,” the family said in the statement.
Several members of the ballet community mourned DePrince’s passing, including American ballerina Misty Copeland, who posted a video of DePrince dancing alongside an excerpt from Copeland’s book, Black Ballerinas.
“Despite being told the ‘world wasn’t ready for Black ballerinas’ or that ‘Black ballerinas weren’t worth investing in,’ she remained determined, focused, and began making big strides,” Copeland wrote.
DePrince was born Mabinty Bangura in Kenema, Sierra Leone, on 6th January 1995, and was placed in an orphanage at the age of three by her uncle during the civil war. In her 2014 book Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina, she recounted being ostracised by other children because of vitiligo, a skin pigmentation condition, and how she suffered from malnourishment.
In 1999, she was adopted by Elaine and Charles DePrince, a New Jersey couple, who enrolled her in ballet classes. At age 14, she received a scholarship to study ballet at Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.
DePrince gained fame after starring in the 2011 documentary First Position and went on to perform globally, joining the prestigious Boston Ballet as a second soloist while also working as a motivational speaker.
