Ballerina Michaela DePrince, Once An Orphan From War-Torn Sierra Leone, Defies The Odds And Racial Stereotypes

Defying staggering odds, an orphan from war-torn Sierra Leone is taking the ballet world by storm, ABC News reports.

After her parents were shot and killed when she was 3 years old, Michaela DePrince was brought to an orphanage. But her chances of getting adopted seemed slim.

She was often referred to as a "devil child" because of her skin condition that causes depigmentation.

But two critical moments in DePrince's young life changed her fate, the Burlington Free Press reports,

First, she found a magazine that featured a prima ballerina on the cover.

"She looked so happy," DePrince told ABC News. "That's the only thing I lived for -- to become this person, to be exactly like this ballerina."

Then, when she was 4, she was adopted by an American couple who brought her to the U.S.

Before long, DePrince was enrolled in ballet classes for children, according to Pointe Magazine.

Today, more than a decade later, 17-year-old DePrince is living her dream.

DePrince is finishing up her last year at the prestigious Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre in New York City and she told the Burlington Free Press that she will be dancing with a professional ballet company by the end of the summer.

The teen, who was invited to perform on the popular television show "Dancing With the Stars" last month, is also one of six young ballet dancers featured in the new documentary "First Position."

But despite her talent and success, DePrince told ABC News that she still faces some serious obstacles.

Being a "dark black ballet dancer," she said, means she has to work "10 times harder" than everyone else.

In 2007, The New York Times reported that though "other minorities have made inroads in classical ballet, the complicated reality of racial inequality persists, especially for black women".

DePrince said she hopes to use her skills to break down those color barriers.

"One day I want to perform White Swan and I know that'll be really weird to have a black girl in a white tutu performing Swan Lake, but I just hope that they see past that," she said.

Watch Michaela DePrince's performance on "Dancing With the Stars" here:

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Comments

[sweetpatriot]

01:49 AM on 06/15/2012

She is pretty.

[Lifeisdone]

01:33 PM on 05/12/2012

She is beautiful. I absolutely love stories like this..

[yahooserious]

09:52 AM on 05/12/2012

Isn't she beautiful!

[Sunie Dae]

12:35 AM on 05/11/2012

Every stereotype should be broken.
Black is beautiful, to me.
We are 1.

[wkingsolomon77]

01:01 PM on 05/12/2012

The world know we are #1,we have to know it 24-7 .People only try to block u when they know u are the best and who has been blocked more than Us?

[Redv14]

03:08 PM on 05/10/2012

I was saw the documentary film about this young lady and other upcoming ballet dances. It's called First Position and it is well worth seeing!

[sweetpatriot]

01:48 AM on 06/15/2012

Where can you see it?

[Shyla22]

01:57 PM on 05/10/2012

Keep working hard, never stop improving and ALWAYS have faith - you can be a History Maker if you choose to be!

[Candide33]

07:22 AM on 05/09/2012

She is a lovely girl, and she has such beautiful legs, she doesn't have knobby knees like most ballerinas. This was such a nice story.

[KIVPossum]

03:31 AM on 05/09/2012

Amazing young woman.

[Kali03]

11:58 PM on 05/08/2012

Oh, my, this story brought the tears to my eyes.

What a beautiful girl and so graceful and charming. I wish her all the best...

[waitforitwaitforit]

11:32 PM on 05/08/2012

God has really blessed your hard work and dreams. And I would bet you are going to be dancing Swan Lake with the ABT before you know it.

[judypiano]

08:50 PM on 05/08/2012

Nice story with a good ending. I hope she gets to dance to the Swan Lake because she is that good, not because of her color. Where does skin color come when you try out to see who is the best for a part of a ballet show? How about a male ballet dancer getting to dance the swan lake?

[humaneisfact]

07:52 PM on 05/08/2012

I hope I get to see her perform Swan Lake someday!

[LadySaera]

06:31 PM on 05/08/2012

Wonderful story. So inspiring to see Michaela has accomplished so much. I believe she will definitely live her dream someday for sure.

[Holly H]

05:23 PM on 05/08/2012

Awesome...hope she accomplishes her dreams!