Autobiography/Memoir
Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina
Michaela Deprince
2014
Michaela Mabunty DePrince (1995-2024) was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. Michaela DePrince was known as girl Number 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life.
At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family, who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and is now the youngest principal dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem. She has appeared in the ballet documentary First Position, as well as on Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, and Nightline.
In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shares her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet's most exciting rising stars.
Michaela Mabunty DePrince tragically died September 10th 2024 at the age of 29 and her mother Elaine DePrince, who adopted her as a young girl, died Sept. 11 "during a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery," according to a family statement shared on Facebook - the two deaths were not connected. To date no cause of death for Michaela has been shared.