Ballet fans grieve the passing of Dancing with the Stars’ Michaela Mabinty DePrince, an amazing ballerina who overcame incredible difficulties to become a global star.
After appearing in the 2011 documentary First Position, Boston Ballet dancer Michaela, an orphan from war-torn Sierra Leone, became famous. At 29, she died September 10.
Sadly, Michaela’s adoptive mother, who saved her from the filthy shelter where she was told she was “too ugly” to find a home, died 24 hours later.
Four-year-old Michaela Mabinty DePrince was abandoned by her uncle in a shelter where staff tried to destroy her spirit every day after her father was brutally killed in war-torn Sierra Leone and her mother died of illness.
As “Number 27,” young Michaela had little prospect of finding a home since she had vitiligo, a disorder that causes skin patches to lose pigment.
The girl, known as “the devil child” for her spotty skin, was repeatedly informed she was too unattractive to be picked.
Michaela said she slept on a grass mat with “Number 26” and was lowly graded for being rebellious and having vitiligo, which causes white freckles on her neck and chest.
Her only possession was a magazine that Glamour said had blown into her face and a vomit-stained nightgown. The cover showed a ballerina en pointe, balancing her weight on her toes.
Michaela told Glamour, “The dancer looked beautiful and happy, that’s what caught my eye. “I wanted happiness.”
She gave Elaine DePrince the crumpled ballerina photo initially when she moved to New Jersey.
“There was so much love right away,” said Michaela, who would grace magazine covers for 20 years as a prima dancer. “I had never been surrounded by that.”
‘My Life is Proof’
Michaela’s love of dancing began early and she pursued her aspirations with commitment.
Michaela appeared in First Position, a 2011 documentary about six talented dancers competing for a spot in the American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet.
She got into JKO and received a scholarship.
Michaela appeared on Dancing with the Stars the year the award-winning documentary was published.
“My life is proof that no matter what situation you’re in, as long as you have a supportive family, you can achieve anything,” Michaela remarked.
The rising star ballerina joined the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 2012. After joining the Dutch National Ballet, the War Child Ambassador became a ballet powerhouse.
A new episode of The Dance Edit Podcast arrives tomorrow, May 14! Its hosts will discuss the 20th anniversary of "Center Stage" and more, plus @MichaelaDPrince offers words of support to the dance world. @dance_edit https://t.co/ZPAdkZTVni
📸: Angela Sterling pic.twitter.com/Lm5ikBh805
— Dance Magazine (@Dance_Magazine) May 13, 2020
While practicing for The Nutcracker in Amsterdam, she was called to dance in Beyonce’s 2016 Lemonade hour-long video in New Orleans.
Michaela told the Wall Street Journal, “She walked up to me and said, ‘It’s such an honor to have you here.’” My clichéd response was, ‘The honor is mine.’ On cloud nine.”
Beacon of hope
On September 10, her family published a devastating message about the Boston Ballet principal soloist.
“Rest in Power,” the post begins regarding the September 10 dancer passed away. We mourn the passing of star ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, whose creativity touched many hearts and whose spirit inspired many, leaving an everlasting legacy on ballet and beyond.”
The Facebook post says Michaela “stood as a beacon of hope for many, showing that no matter the obstacles, beauty and greatness can rise from the darkest of places.”
The cause of her death is unknown.
Mom ‘spared the pain’
After Michaela’s untimely death, her loving adoptive mother Elaine DePrince died on September 11 “during a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery.”
Elaine died unaware of her daughter’s death, according to a Facebook family statement.
“Despite appearances, the two deaths were unrelated. We can only make sense of the incomprehensible by believing that God saved Elaine, who had lost three children years earlier, from losing a fourth. “What the family is going through is truly unimaginably painful,” the post says. Having two family members die within 24 hours is heartbreaking. We still request privacy…
Michaela and Elaine, rest easy. Please tell us your comments and share this article so we may express our best wishes to this mother-daughter pair’s relatives and friends.