Michaela DePrince
Michaela DePrince is one of the most mesmerizing professional ballerinas who has had to overcome many challenges to reach her current status. Michaela was born on January 6th 1995 in Sierra Leone. She was born with a skin condition called vitiligo that caused depigmentation in her skin; this skin condition is extremely rare and only effets 0.5% of the world's population. Michaela was born in the middle of a decade-long civil war; sadly, because of this, both her mother and father were killed in the war. As a result, her uncle left her at an orphanage in Sierra Leone. There she was heavily mistreated. “Everyday in the orphanage I was starving, I've never felt so alone before.”
In this orphanage, she was introduced to ballet and became heavily intrigued. Her first account of being introduced to dance was through a magazine that featured a ballerina on the cover. “It was not just the fact that she was a ballerina, it's that she looks happy, and I wanted to be happy.” Eventually, Michaela was adopted by an amazing family in the United States who valued her love and passion for ballet. They enrolled Michaela in ballet where she quickly excelled amongst her peers. Being a dancer of color, as well as having a skin condition, made her stand out within the crowd and be treated differently despite her amazing dancing skills. “I thought, why would people love me? I thought I was a monster…. I remember my first show I was terrified because I thought that if people saw my spots then I could not become the ballerina I wanted to be,” Micheala recounts, sharing how ashamed and afraid she was of her own skin. This necessitated Michaela working very hard to overcome typical barriers in dance and racial stereotypes. Michela used dance in order to express herself and her feelings amid the backlash she faced. Instead of succumbing to doubters and detractors, Michela worked hard to prove that she was worthy of her place and to show all girls of color in ballet that they are beautiful dancers no matter their skin color.
Michaela has been dancing at the Boston Ballet since 2021, where she has performed numerous enamoring solos. She is the ambassador of War Child Holland, focusing on improving the wellbeing of children living with violence and armed conflict, aiming to empower children worldwide. Through this work, she helped refugee settlements in Uganda, Lebanon, and Sierra Leone. In 2014, she released her memoir titled "Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina," alongside her adoptive mother. The memoir details her journey from a war-torn childhood to becoming a renowned ballet dancer. Throughout her career, Michaela has been a vocal advocate for diversity and inclusion in ballet, advocating for more representation of dancers of color and working to dismantle barriers for aspiring dancers from underrepresented communities.
Michaela has performed alongside well-known artists such as Beyoncé and Kendrick Lamar in the music video “Freedom,” highlighting themes of liberation from oppression and racism, as encouraging active efforts for change. Michaela’s impact on the ballet world is profound; she embarrassed her unique identity to advocate for diversity and inclusion. She has created many opportunities for underrepresented communities, fostering positive change within the ballet world and creating a new wave of representation for everyone. To me, Michaela is more than a ballet dancer; she is a symbol of strength. As a person of color, she reminds me that no obstacle is insurmountable. Being different is not a bad thing, but rather, it can set you apart from the crowd. Her legacy impacts many dancers of color, young and old, symbolizing hope and possibility, inspiring people everywhere to embrace their true selves, while maintaining their determination against adversity.
Michaela De Prince
https://michaeladeprince.com/about/
https://michaeladeprince.com/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_iqhNWY9tx0&t=7s
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Michaela-DePrince
