Michaela Deprince, 17, came from the horrors of Sierra Leone to become a ballerina with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.
*Whenever we witness someone not only pursuing their dream, but fulfilling it, our hearts are made full.
The story we ballet world is the beneficiary to the tragic but beautiful story of a Sierra Leone orphan who was able to rebuild her life from the ruins of her past tragedies.
Michaela Deprince, born Mabinty Bangura, is the youngest ballerina dancing with the Dance Theater of Harlem, but life started for her during the infamous civil war of Sierra Leone which spanned an entire decade from 1991 to 2002.
During that period, it is estimated that 50,000 were brutally killed…Deprince’s father was one of them. Her mother starved to death soon after. Her and her sisters were sent to an orphanage where she was treated like an untouchable.