Michaela DePrince, “Dancing With the Stars” ballerina and Beyoncé “Lemonade” collaborator, dies at 29

"Her legacy will continue to inspire generations of dancers, but her absence leaves a void that will be felt deeply," said Misty Copeland.

Michaela DePrince, a barrier-breaking ballerina who appeared on Dancing With the Stars and in Beyoncé's Lemonade film, has died at age 29.

The dancer's official Instagram page announced the news on Friday, and the DePrince family confirmed her death in a statement on a spokesperson's Facebook page. A cause of death was not revealed.

"With pain in our hearts, we share the loss of star ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, whose artistry touched countless hearts and whose spirit inspired many, leaving an indelible mark on the world of ballet, and beyond," a statement on DePrince's Instagram signed by "Team MDP "reads.

Born Mabinty Bangura in Kenema, Sierra Leone, in 1995, DePrince grew up in an orphanage, where she was cruelly mistreated and mocked for her vitiligo. "They thought of me as a devil's child. They told me every day how I wasn't going to get adopted because nobody would want a devil's child," she told the BBC in 2012. However, she and another girl named Mabinty, who now goes by Mia, were adopted by Elaine and Charles DePrince in New Jersey in 1999.

After fixating on an image of a ballerina in a magazine, DePrince enrolled in ballet school in Philadelphia and performed at the Youth America Grand Prix. She was one of six primary subjects in the 2011 documentary First Position, trained at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet in New York, and appeared in an episode of Dancing With the Stars the same year. She went on to join the Dutch National Ballet's junior company and later became second soloist for the Boston Ballet.

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DePrince is perhaps most recognized outside the ballet community for her appearance in the "Freedom" section of Beyoncé's Lemonade film, inspired by her 2016 album of the same name. "The director gave me music to listen to, and about three minutes later, he had me dance to it," she told Entertainment Tonight in 2016. "I improvised, choreographing the dance on the spot. I needed three takes. When I saw the final Lemonade video, it was fun to see my name on the credits for choreography." She also starred in the 2021 ballet film Coppelia.

DePrince chronicled her journey in her 2016 memoir, Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina, which Madonna circled as a directorial project in 2018. The dancer also wrote a children's book titled Ballerina Dreams.

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"Her life was one defined by grace, purpose, and strength," reads the statement from Team MDP. "Her unwavering commitment to her art, her humanitarian efforts, and her courage in overcoming unimaginable challenges will forever inspire us. She stood as a beacon of hope for many, showing that no matter the obstacles, beauty and greatness can rise from the darkest of places."

DePrince's sister Mia also paid tribute to the late dancer. "I am truly in a state of shock and deep sadness. My beautiful sister is no longer here," she wrote. "From the very beginning of our story back in Africa, sleeping on a shared mat in the orphanage, Michaela (Mabinty) and I used to make up our own musical theater plays and act them out. We created our own ballets. She would choreograph, and I was the composer and conductor. When we got adopted, our parents quickly poured into our dreams and arose the beautiful, gracefully strong ballerina that so many of you knew her as today."

She continued, "She was an inspiration. Whether she was leaping across the stage or getting on a plane and flying to third-world countries to provide orphans and children with dance classes, she was determined to conquer all her dreams in the arts and dance. Michaela (Mabinty) has left her footprints in the sand and on so many stages across the world. She will be truly missed."

Fellow ballerina Misty Copeland also posted a tribute to DePrince. "Michaela had so much more to give, not just to ballet, but to the world," Copeland wrote. "Her legacy will continue to inspire generations of dancers, but her absence leaves a void that will be felt deeply. The ballet world, and all those whose lives she touched, will miss her profoundly. She was a bright light, and her impact will never be forgotten."

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