Your support helps us to tell the story
The mother of ballerina Michaela DePrince has died the day after her daughter’s shock death.
Michaela, 29, died on 10 September while her mother Elaine died during a routine procedure in preparation for surgery the next day, their family has confirmed.
An orphan of war in Sierra Leone, Michaela moved to the United States while still an infant and was adopted by Elaine at the age of four. Elaine did not know about her daughter’s death at the time of her procedure.
A statement shared by a representative of the DePrince family said: “As unbelievable as it may seem, the two deaths were completely unrelated.
“The only way we can make sense of the senseless is that Elaine, who had already lost three children many years ago, was by the grace of God spared the pain of experiencing the loss of a fourth child.”
It continued: “What the family is going through right now is truly unimaginably painful. Grieving two family members who died within a 24 hour period is tragic and devastating.”
In an earlier statement shared on Friday 20 September, the DePrince family said: “Michaela touched so many lives across the world, including ours. She was an unforgettable inspiration to everyone who knew her or heard her story.
“From her early life in war-torn Africa, to stages and screens across the world, she achieved her dreams and so much more.”
Michaela was born Mabinty Bangura in Kenema, Sierra Leone on January 6, 1995. She grew up as an orphan from the age of three after her father was reportedly shot and killed by the Revolutionary United Front and her mother starved to death.
In 1999 she was adopted by Elaine and Charles DePrince, and moved to Cherry Hill, New Jersey.
Michaela went on to study classical ballet in the US, and was one of the stars of the 2011 documentary First Position, which followed six young dancers as they competed for a place at an elite ballet school.
She made history by becoming the youngest principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem, before moving to the Netherlands to dance with the Dutch National Ballet. She then returned to the United States to dance with Boston Ballet.
In 2012 she appeared on Dancing with the Stars, and in 2016 she choreographed her own dance moves to accompany the song “Freedom” on Beyoncé’s visual album Lemonade.
“She said I looked like I was a creature from another planet,” DePrince told the Wall Street Journal about meeting the pop superstar. “She walked up to me and said, ‘It’s such an honor to have you here.’ I was really cheesy and said, ‘The honor is mine.’ I was on cloud nine.”
Her 2014 memoir, Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina, which she co-authored with her adoptive mother has been published in 12 countries. In 2018 it was announced that Madonna was attached to direct a film adaptation.
Boston Ballet paid tribute to DePrince following her death. “We’re sending our love and support to the family of Michaela Mabinty DePrince at this time of loss,” said their statement. “We were so fortunate to know Mabinty; she was a beautiful person, a wonderful dancer, and she will be greatly missed by us all.”
