Michaela Mabindi DePrince — a ballet dancer who emerged from war-torn Sierra Leone into the worldwide dance world — has died … in response to an announcement she posted on Instagram.
The account posted a black-and-white photograph of the star … together with a prolonged caption that targeted on Mikayla’s “grace, function and power,” including that she pours her efforts into dance and in humanitarian undertakings.
Her crew famous that she lived solely a short while…nevertheless, her legacy will proceed to stay on with all who knew her. The publish didn’t point out a reason behind demise.
MMD was initially born in Sierra Leone and was taken to an orphanage in the course of the nation’s civil warfare. After the orphanage was bombed, she fled to a refugee camp…and was finally adopted by a pair in New Jersey.
She had many various alternatives in the USA…changing into the youngest member of the distinguished Dance Theater of Harlem after which crossing the Atlantic to affix the Dutch Nationwide Ballet.
In 2011, on the age of 16, Michaela was solid as one of many principal dancers within the documentary First Place, which adopted college students competing for a spot at an elite ballet college. The following yr, Mikayla appeared on “Dancing with the Stars.”
Mikascilla additionally featured in Brandi Carlile’s music video for her music “The Joke”… Within the black-and-white clip, Mikascilla twirls as Brandi emotionally sings the music.
Lately, Michaela wrote a memoir… Take Off: From Conflict Orphan to Star Ballet Dancer. She additionally wrote a youngsters’s e-book, “A Ballerina’s Dream,” to encourage the subsequent technology of dancers.
DePrince was 29 years previous on the time.
Relaxation in peace
