The 29-year-old ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince has died.

An announcement on DePrince’s Instagram page shared the news of her death on Friday afternoon (see below).

DePrince, who gained attention as a teenage dancer in the 2011 documentary “First Position,” made history as the youngest principal dancer in the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

She then danced for the Dutch National Ballet in the Netherlands before moving to the Boston Ballet.

The outstanding ballet dancer danced in Beyoncé’s musical film “Lemonade” (2016 – the chapter “Hope”) and played the lead role in the 2021 film “Coppelia”, which combines live-action dance and animation.

DePrince, born Mabinty Bangura in Kenema, Sierra Leone, was adopted at age 4 by Elaine DePrince and Charles DePrince of Cherry Hill, New Jersey, after her parents died in the Sierra Leone civil war.

“It is with pain in our hearts that we share the loss of star ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince, whose art touched countless hearts and whose spirit left many inspired and indelible marks on the world of ballet and beyond,” said the Instagram post, which did not give a cause of DePrince’s death.

In 2014, DePrince told her story in a childhood memoir, Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina, co-authored with Elaine DePrince.

As a young girl in Sierra Leone, she was called the “devil’s child” because of her vitiligo. Her ballet dreams were born in the orphanage where she lived before moving to the United States.

“At the orphanage, I found a magazine with a picture of a ballet dancer in a pink tutu,” she told ABC News in 2012. “I kept it and thought, if I ever get adopted, I want to be just like that.”

“It represented freedom, it represented hope, it represented trying to live a little longer,” DePrince told CNN. “I was so shaken up in the orphanage, I don’t know how I got through it, but seeing that completely saved me.”

DePrince later advocated for children affected by war, serving as an ambassador for War Child Holland and hosting the Dare to Dream gala.

The Instagram post spoke about DePrince’s remarkable journey:

“Her life was one of grace, purpose and strength. Her unwavering commitment to her art, her humanitarian efforts and her courage to overcome unimaginable challenges will inspire us forever. She was a beacon of hope to many, showing that regardless of the obstacles, beauty and greatness can emerge from even the darkest places. Although her time with us was far too short, her genius and legacy will continue to shine in the hearts of all who were touched by her story for generations to come. Love and prayers go out to her adopted family, friends and those who loved her.”

DePrince won the Youth American Grand Prix scholarship to the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of the American Ballet Theatre in New York, where she trained in conjunction with the Rock School for Dance Education in Philadelphia.

Her quest for the Grand Prix was documented in “First Position”.

She made her professional debut with the Joburg Ballet in Johannesburg, South Africa.

DePrince appeared on “Dancing with the Stars” in 2012. In 2014, she co-authored another children’s book with Elaine DePrince: “Ballerina Dreams: From Orphan to Dancer.”

“We send our love and support to the family of Michaela Mabinty DePrince during this time of loss,” the Boston Ballet said, dedicating a post to DePrince. “We were so lucky to know Mabinty; she was a wonderful person, a wonderful dancer, and we will all miss her very much.”