In honor of Black History Month, I want to shed light on a lesser known Black dancer.
Michaela DePrince is a phenomenal dancer with an incredible story. Michaela was born in Sierra Leone in 1995 during a civil war with the name Mabinty Bangura. From there, she was orphaned as a young child, sent to live in an orphanage until the age of 4, when she was adopted by the DePrince family, living in New Jersey.
As a young child living in an orphanage, she found a photo of a ballet dancer from a magazine, The photo that later, would be said to be the inspiration to begin dancing. As soon as she learned English, she was enrolled in ballet lessons. However, it was not a smooth journey from there. She was not allowed to play Clara in the Nutcracker at 8 years old because she was told that the world was not ready for a black ballerina. Still, she rose above and eventually became a member of the Dance Theatre of Harlem, progreesing on to the Dutch National Ballet and as of 2021, the second soloist of Boston Ballet.
In 2014, she wrote a book alongside her adopted mother, Elaine DePrince titled, “Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina” I strongly suggest anyone intereted in Ballet or Black History read this story. I got the chance to read the firsthand account of her incredible life and story as she rose to become one of the most incredible ballerinas of her time. You can find the book on Amazon for
