DePrince's story was inspiring to many. She persevered through hardship on her journey to becoming a celebrated ballet dancer.
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00:00American ballet dancer, Michaela Mabinti-DePrince, has died at age 29.
00:11DePrince's success story was an inspiring one.
00:14She was adopted by an American family, but was born in war-torn Sierra Leone, where she
00:19lost both her parents at a young age.
00:23In an orphanage there, she was labeled devil's child due to her vitiligo, a skin pigmentation
00:28disorder.
00:29Um, I think it just makes me more determined because I've been through so much that I know
00:36now that I can make it and I can, you know, help other kids who have been in really bad
00:41situations realize that they can make it too, so, yeah.
00:47DePrince went on to become a principal dancer at the Dance Theater of Harlem, the Dutch
00:52National Ballet, and the Boston Ballet.
00:56Her passion has helped inspire young black dancers to pursue their dreams, her family
01:01said.