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Question

professional stage debut is a huge event in the life of any
ballerina, but Michaela DePrince’s recent tour of South
Africa also marked the end of an extraordinary journey from her
childhood as a war orphan in Sierra Leone.
“I got out of a terrible place,” says DePrince. “I had no idea I
would be here—I’m living my dream every single day.”
She was born in Sierra Leone in 1995. Her parents named her
Mabinty, but after they both died during the civil war, she was
sent to an orphanage, where she became a number.
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MAGAZINE ARTICLE
Michaela
DePrince:
The War Orphan
Who Became a
Ballerina
William Kremer
Michaela DePrince: The War Orphan Who Became a Ballerina 51

Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
NOTES
“They named us from one to 27,” she recalls. “One was the
favorite child of the orphanage and 27 was the least favorite.”
DePrince was number 27, because she suffers from vitiligo,
a condition in which patches of skin lose pigmentation.
1 To
the “Aunties” who ran the orphanage, it was evidence of the
evil spirit within the three-year-old. She still recalls the fierce
antagonism of the women.
“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 says.
Although the other girls in the orphanage were encouraged not
to play with her, DePrince formed a close friendship with child
number 26, also called Mabinty, who was disliked by the Aunties
because she was left-handed.
The pair shared a sleeping mat. At night, when Michaela had
bad dreams, her “mat-mate” would soothe her with kind words
and stories.
* * *
Her memories of early childhood are fragmentary—moments
of piercing clarity which have been reassembled in date order. She
believes it was soon after witnessing the killing of her teacher that
she stumbled upon something that was to shape the rest of her
life—a discarded magazine.
“There was a lady on it, she was on her tippy-toes, in this pink,
beautiful tutu. I had never seen anything like this—a costume that
stuck out with glitter on it, with just so much beauty. I could just
see the beauty in that person and the hope and the love and just
everything that I didn’t have.
“And I just thought: ‘Wow! This is what I want to be.’”
DePrince ripped the photograph out of the magazine and, for
the lack of anywhere else to keep it, stuffed the treasured scrap in
her underwear.
One day, the orphanage was warned it would be bombed
and the children were marched to a distant refugee camp. Here
DePrince learned that her beloved mat-mate was to be adopted.
An American woman, Elaine DePrince, had come to the camp to
adopt child number 26, now called Mia. For a moment, Michaela
was distraught because she believed that all the other children
would be taken to new homes and she would be left behind.
1. pigmentation (pihg muhn TAY shuhn) n. natural coloring.
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5
Mark context clues or indicate
another strategy you used that
helped you determine meaning.
antagonism (an TAG uh nihz
uhm) n
.
MEANING:
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13
Mark context clues or indicate
another strategy you used that
helped you determine meaning.
refugee (rehf yoo JEE) n
.
MEANING:
14
distraught (dihs TRAWT) adj
.
MEANING:
52 UNIT 1 • CHILDHOOD
Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
NOTES
But abruptly there was a change of plan. When the Aunties told
Elaine DePrince that Michaela was unlikely to find another home,
she decided to adopt both girls.
Michaela remembers struggling to understand what was
happening. She was intoxicated
2
by the American woman with
her

dazzling blonde hair, but there was something else on her
mind too.
“I was looking at people’s feet because I thought: ‘Everyone
has to have [ballet] pointe shoes, they have to have pointe shoes
because these are people from the US!’”
Not only was Elaine not wearing any pointe shoes, but as
Michaela found when she looked through her suitcase that night,
she had none in her luggage either.
Her new mother quickly noticed Michaela’s obsession with
ballet.
“We found a Nutcracker3 video and I watched it 150 times,”
Michaela says.
When they finally went to see a stage performance, she was
able to point out to her mother the places where dancers had
missed their steps.
Elaine enrolled five-year-old Michaela in the Rock School of
Dance in Philadelphia, making the 45-minute drive from New
Jersey every day.
But DePrince remained a shy girl, painfully self-conscious of
her vitiligo. “That was all I would think about when I was on
stage. I had trouble looking at myself in the mirror,” she says.
Instead of glorying in the glittery tutus and bodices that had
drawn her to ballet, she covered herself up whenever possible
with turtleneck sweaters.
One day, DePrince asked one of her ballet teachers if she
thought her skin condition might hold back her career. The teacher
asked her what she was talking about. She hadn’t even noticed the
pale patches on her skin—she’d just been watching her steps. That
was a significant moment for her.
But, she says, being a black ballet dancer is hard, even in the US.
She thinks the problem is that in the corps de ballet—the group
of ballerinas who are not soloists—girls are supposed to look the
same.
2. intoxicated (ihn TOK sih kay tihd) adj. overwhelmed and excited.
3. [The] Nutcracker popular ballet with music by the famous Russian composer Peter Illyich
Tchaikovsyk (1840–1893).
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Michaela DePrince: The War Orphan Who Became a Ballerina 53
Discuss It How does viewing this video add to
your understanding of the difficulties Michaela faced as
a child?
Write your response before sharing your ideas.
Michaela DePrince—Ballet Dancer
MEDIA CONNECTION
Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
NOTES
“It is a challenge,” she says. “If you look at [ballet] companies
you won’t really see any black girls. You might see a mixed-race
girl but there are only one or two black soloists in the whole U.S.”
Now 17, DePrince recently completed a tour with the Dance
Theater of Harlem, many of whose dancers are African American,
or mixed-race.
“I have become more upbeat—I used to be very shy,” she says.
“Now I’ve grown up and I’m so happy with the way things are.
write me a essay

Answer 1

The Remarkable Journey of Michaela DePrince: From War Orphan to Ballerina

Michaela DePrince's life story is one of extraordinary resilience and inspiration. As a child, she faced unimaginable challenges that would have crushed the spirits of many, but instead, she transformed her adversities into stepping stones towards her dream of becoming a ballerina. Born as Mabinty in Sierra Leone in 1995, Michaela became a war orphan during the civil war when both her parents were killed. Instead of allowing her tragic circumstances to define her, she seized the opportunity to create her own narrative.

Michaela’s early life in an orphanage was marked by neglect and prejudice due to her vitiligo, a skin condition that led the caretakers, referred to as “Aunties,” to perceive her as “the devil’s child.” She was labeled as number 27, the least favored child, reflecting the harsh realities of her existence. Despite this bleak situation, Michaela found solace in an unlikely friend—a fellow orphan named Mia—who became her confidante and source of comfort. Their bond was a crucial element of Michaela's survival and emotional well-being during this difficult period.

The pivotal moment in Michaela's life came when she discovered a magazine featuring a ballerina wearing a pink tutu. Captivated by the beauty and grace depicted in the image, Michaela realized her aspiration: she wanted to become a ballerina. This dream served as a beacon of hope in the midst of chaos. Even when she faced the prospect of being left behind at the orphanage, the unexpected decision by Elaine DePrince to adopt her and Mia changed the course of her life dramatically.

Transitioning from Sierra Leone to America was filled with challenges and self-doubt. Upon her arrival, Michaela was overwhelmed by her new environment but soon embraced her passion for ballet. Starting her formal training at the Rock School of Dance in Philadelphia, she faced the dual challenge of balancing cultural adaptation with her feelings of insecurity regarding her appearance. Though the stigma attached to her vitiligo weighed heavily on her self-esteem, a turning point occurred when a ballet teacher remarked that she had never even noticed Michaela’s skin condition. It was a moment of profound realization that allowed Michaela to overcome some of her self-consciousness.

However, Michaela's journey was not without systemic challenges. She recognized the barriers faced by Black ballerinas, often feeling like an outsider in a predominantly white art form. Michaela's experiences spotlight the persistent racial disparities within ballet companies, where diversity is often lacking. Nevertheless, Michaela has turned these challenges into fuel for her passion, using her platform to advocate for greater representation and inclusivity within the ballet world.

As Michaela DePrince matured into a young adult, her confidence blossomed. Her recent tour with the Dance Theater of Harlem symbolizes not just her personal success, but also a significant stride toward representation in a field that had historically marginalized dancers of color. Michaela's story is not merely about her rise as a ballerina; it is emblematic of hope and the power of dreams in overcoming adversity.

In conclusion, Michaela DePrince's journey from a war orphan in Sierra Leone to a celebrated ballerina is a remarkable testament to human resilience, the power of friendship, and the importance of pursuing one's dreams despite the odds. Her story serves as an inspiration to countless individuals facing their own battles, proving that with hope, determination, and hard work, one can transcend even the most trying circumstances to achieve greatness.