LOS ANGELES, Sept 13 (Askume) – Sierra Leonean ballet dancer Michaela Mabinti DePrince died on Friday at the age of 29, her family said.
His death was announced on his personal Instagram page and later confirmed by his family in a joint statement on Facebook.
No cause of death was given.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the sudden passing of our beautiful sister Mikaela Mabindi de Princess. Mikaela impacted the lives of so many people around the world, including our own. She was an unforgettable inspiration to anyone who knew her or anyone who heard her story,” her family said in a statement.
Some members of the ballet community mourned DePrince, including American ballet dancer Misty Copeland, who posted a video of DePrince dancing on social media, as well as excerpts from Copeland’s book about DePrince, “The Black Ballerina.”
“Despite being told that ‘the world isn’t ready for a Black ballerina’ or that ‘it’s not worth investing in a Black ballerina,’ she stayed determined, focused, and began to move forward,” Copeland wrote.
DePrince was born Mabinti Bangura on January 6, 1995 in Kenema, Sierra Leone. When he was three years old, his uncle took him to an orphanage during the civil war.
In her 2014 book, “Take Off: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina,” she described how she was different from other children because she suffered from vitiligo, a skin pigmentation disorder, and malnutrition.
She was adopted in 1999 at the age of four by Ellen and Charles DePrince of New Jersey, who enrolled her in ballet classes. At age 14, DePrince received a scholarship to study ballet at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.
She came to fame after starring in the 2011 documentary First Position and has performed around the world, joining the critically acclaimed Boston Ballet as a second soloist and as a motivational speaker.
