Michaela DePrince

Michaela DePrincehttps://www.thecoli.com/threads/this-ballerina-with-vitiligo-turns-beauty-standards-upside-down.580996/Dancers have inspired tons of people for decades, and a powerful message can be shown just like Michaela DePrince has done. Michaela DePrince undertook many challenges but was very brave. Once being adopted she was humble all through her ballet career. During the Sierra Leone's civil war, a young girl named Michaela DePrince had been sent to an orphanage by her uncle, but was courageous and pushed through the fear. Her mom had died due to the cause of starvation, and her dad was killed by the Rebels. There was a cover page with a ballerina on the cover page of a magazine, and Michaela wasn’t exactly sure what the dancer was but knew that she wanted to do that.  A hero must possess being humble and brave. When being humble one may not show that they are a hero until they do something heroic. Showing one’s braveness is a key component to being a hero. Doing courageous acts to save people, sticking up for things, and simple acts of kindness contributes to being brave. Michaela is humble and brave which shows her heroicness. DePrince nevers shows off any rewards she has been given in her life and keeps to herself how hard she works which shows how humble she is. Her bravery was shown through the fact that she grew up during a very dangerous time and faced many obstacles yet still strives for her dream.

Quotehttps://beuniquelyyou.co.uk/whats-your-story/a-glimpse-into-the-life-of-michaela-deprince/DePrince’s braveness was shown though many things she had been through. “Michaela DePrince overcame a traumatic childhood as a war orphan in Sierra Leone to become a prominent ballerina as a teenager in the United States”(Wingenroth, Lauren). As Wingenroth explained, DePrince had overcome her traumatic childhood, and had followed her dream. DePrince’s best friend was going to be adopted by a lady named Elaine DePrince, but decides to also adopt Michaela. While being a young ballerina, she was made fun of because of her disease and being black, but that didn't stop her from becoming a ballerina. Staying brave through this whole process would be stressful, but for Michaela is was not. According to Jockey Reveals New Campaign Featuring War Orphan Turned Ballerina Michaela DePrince article, war orphan, Michaela DePrince, demonstrates that with hope, anything is possible(Jockey Reveals). When DePrince showed her passion for ballet, she really showed her love for ballet and never stopped fighting for it until she had the chance to dance. She had tried going to some ballet companies and was not afraid of getting rejected because she knew that if she kept looking for studios she would find the right on. Which eventually she did and also was awarded a scholarship. It has been very visible that Michaela has stayed brave since a young age.

Dancinghttps://www.dancespirit.com/the-next-chapter-2326646281.htmlGiven many opportunities, DePrince has never let that go to her head. One early teacher told her that black girls do not have the right body type for classical ballet, and another said that because she was black, she would never have the right feet for the art form("Michaela DePrince." Contemporary Black Biography).  When Michaela was older she realised how fortunate she was now from when she never even had the chance to dance when she was just a young girl. Not getting the chance to dance like the other white girls was a very challenging thing for DePrince to hear when that was what she had wanted to do. Now, she dreams to open her own school in Sierra Leone after her dance career ends.  Getting rejected just because of her race had brought down Michaela’s confidence at such a young age. DePrince's success as a young ballerina cut against assumptions about race in ballet("Michaela DePrince." Contemporary Black Biography). Now given so many once in a lifetime jobs she has been a very humble person. She talks about inspiring professional ballet dancers, but she is also very inspiring. DePrince is very talented and a lot of little girls now are inspired to dance like her. Humbleness is something that not everybody has or can not be, but Michaela shows off her talent, but never over uses it.

DePrince teaching studentshttps://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/ent-columns-blogs/jordan-levin/article27496714.htmlMichaela DePrince has inspired so many people, and still to this dance is striving to inspire so many more. The braveness and humbleness she has shown through her lifetime has empowered one to never let any negativity get in the way of your dream. Michaela not only inspires people, but she inspires me because I have been rejected from dances from not being a favorite out of all of the dancers. Michaela is an empowering woman who inspires people to always go for their dream.

Works Cited

"Jockey Reveals New Campaign Featuring War Orphan Turned Ballerina Michaela DePrince." PR Newswire, 27 Apr. 2017. Biography in Context

"Michaela DePrince." Contemporary Black Biography, vol. 104, Gale, 2013. Biography in Context

Wingenroth, Lauren. "Michaela DePrince: the ballet powerhouse moves up the ranks at Dutch National Ballet." Dance Magazine, July 2016, p. 18. Student Resources in Context