A day after trail-blazing ballerina dies at 29, her mother dies too

globalnews.ca:

The family of trailblazing ballerina Michaela Mabinty DePrince is mourning two tragedies after the Boston Ballet soloist and her adoptive mother died just one day apart.

DePrince was born in Sierra Leone, and was adopted by her U.S. mother Elaine in 1999 after she lost both her parents at age three in the country’s civil war. Despite some of her teachers not believing that a Black girl could become a professional ballet dancer, DePrince defied expectations — becoming a principal dancer, or in other words, a prima ballerina at just 17 years old at the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

She went on to dance for the Dutch National Ballet and the Boston Ballet. Offstage, DePrince’s illustrious career includes appearing on Dancing with the Stars and performing in a music video for Beyoncé’s Lemonade. DePrince’s name is often mentioned alongside Misty Copeland’s in discussion of prominent Black ballerinas, according to the New York Times.

What may have been a long career was cut short on Sept. 10, when DePrince died at just age 29. Her death was announced three days later on the dancer’s Instagram page. A cause of death has not been revealed.

“Her life was one defined by grace, purpose, and strength,” the memorial post reads. “Her unwavering commitment to her art, her humanitarian efforts, and her courage in overcoming unimaginable challenges will forever inspire us.”

A post shared by Michaela Mabinty DePrince (@michaeladeprince)

A day after DePrince died, her mother Elaine died, too.

Family spokesperson Jess Volinski says the two deaths are unconnected and that Elaine died “during a routine procedure in preparation for a surgery” on Sept. 11. In fact, “Elaine did not know of Michaela’s passing at the time of her procedure.”

“The only