Ballet star Michaela DePrince dead at 29. Dancer with remarkable story had beginnings in N.J.

Ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince, 29, has died.

An announcement on DePrince’s Instagram web page Friday afternoon shared information of her loss of life (see beneath).

DePrince, who had a exceptional journey from her native Sierra Leone, drew consideration as a teen dancer within the 2011 documentary “First Place“ and made historical past because the youngest principal dancer on the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

She went on to bop for the Dutch Nationwide Ballet within the Netherlands earlier than becoming a member of the Boston Ballet.

The ballet standout danced in Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” musical movie (2016) and starred within the 2021 movie “Coppelia,” which mixes live-action dancing and animation.

DePrince, born Mabinty Bangura in Kenema, Sierra Leone, was adopted by when she was 4 by Elaine DePrince and Charles DePrince of Cherry Hill, New Jersey after her mother and father died within the Sierra Leone Civil Battle.

“With ache in our hearts, we share the lack of star ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, whose artistry touched numerous hearts and whose spirit impressed many, leaving an indelible mark on the world of ballet, and past,” reads the Instagram publish, which didn’t share a reason for loss of life for DePrince.

In 2014, DePrince instructed her story within the younger grownup memoir “Taking Flight: From Battle Orphan to Star Ballerina,” co-authored by Elaine DePrince.

As a younger woman in Sierra Leone, she was known as “satan youngster” due to her vitiligo. Her ballet goals took root within the orphanage the place she lived earlier than transferring to the USA.

“Within the orphanage, I discovered {a magazine} that had a ballet dancer on level with a pink tutu,” she instructed ABC Information in 2012. “I saved it, and I believed to myself if I ever received adopted, I needed to develop into identical to this.”

“It represented freedom, it represented hope, it represented attempting to stay just a little longer,” DePrince instructed CNN the identical 12 months. “I used to be so upset within the orphanage, I do not know how I received via it, however seeing that, it fully saved me.”

DePrince later grew to become an advocate for youngsters affected by struggle, serving as an envoy for Battle Youngster Holland and internet hosting the Dare to Dream gala.

The Instagram publish speaks to DePrince’s perseverance.

“Her life was one outlined by grace, goal, and energy,” it reads. “Her unwavering dedication to her artwork, her humanitarian efforts, and her braveness in overcoming unimaginable challenges will without end encourage us. She stood as a beacon of hope for a lot of, exhibiting that regardless of the obstacles, magnificence and greatness can rise from the darkest of locations. Although her time with us was far too transient, her brilliance and legacy will proceed to shine within the hearts of all who have been touched by her story, for generations to come back. Love and prayers go to her chosen household, buddies, and people who beloved her.”

DePrince gained the Youth American Grand Prix Scholarship to American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis College in New York, which is the place she educated together with The Rock College for Dance Training in Philadelphia.

Her Grand Prix quest was documented in “First Place.”

She made her skilled debut on the Joburg Ballet in Johannesburg, South Africa.

DePrince appeared on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2012. In 2014, she co-authored one other kids’s guide with Elaine DePrince, “Ballerina Desires: From Orphan to Dancer.”

Her sister, Mia Mabinty DePrince, who was additionally adopted by the DePrinces from Sierra Leone, shared a press release on Fb.

“I’m really in a state of shock and deep unhappiness,” she stated. “My lovely sister is now not right here. From the very starting of our story again in Africa, sleeping on a shared mat within the orphanage, Michaela (Mabinty) and I used to make up our personal musical theater performs and act them out. We created our personal ballets. She would choreograph, and I used to be the composer and conductor. After we received adopted, our mother and father rapidly poured into our goals and arose the attractive, gracefully robust ballerina that so lots of you knew her as as we speak.

“She was an inspiration,” DePrince’s sister continued. “Whether or not she was leaping throughout the stage or getting on a aircraft and flying to third-world international locations to supply orphans and youngsters with dance courses, she was decided to overcome all her goals within the arts and dance. Michaela (Mabinty) has left her footprints within the sand and on so many levels the world over. She will probably be really missed.”

The Boston Ballet additionally remembered DePrince.

“We’re sending our love and assist to the household of Michaela Mabinty DePrince at the moment of loss,” the ballet stated, dedicating an Instagram publish to her reminiscence. “We have been so lucky to know Mabinty; she was a lovely individual, a beautiful dancer, and he or she will probably be drastically missed by us all.”

Ballet icon Misty Copeland, who in 2015 grew to become the primary African American lady to be named principal dancer at American Ballet Theatre, paid tribute to DePrince on Instagram.

In her 2021 guide “Black Ballerinas,” Copeland, 42, recounted taking the younger dancer beneath her wing at ABT’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis College.

“She was a prodigious expertise and the primary darker-skinned dancer I witnessed come via this system,” Copeland wrote. “Colorism is definitely a difficulty within the skilled ballet world, and her vitiligo differentiated her aesthetic even additional.”

Copeland stated DePrince’s immense expertise moved her to make a connection for the dancer on the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

“Relaxation in energy, @michaeladeprince,” she stated in a publish, sharing an excerpt from the guide. “I’m devastated by this information.”

“Michaela had a lot extra to provide, not simply to ballet, however to the world,” Copeland stated. “Her legacy will proceed to encourage generations of dancers, however her absence leaves a void that will probably be felt deeply. The ballet world, and all these whose lives she touched, will miss her profoundly. She was a vivid gentle, and her impression won’t ever be forgotten.”

A DePrince household assertion stated Michaela is survived by her sisters Mia, Beelee, Jaye, Mariel and Amie and brothers Adam and Erik.