Ballet Dancer Michaela DePrince: From Sierra Leone to the Stage
Ballet dancer Michaela DePrince lived in Sierra Leone during the country’s civil war.
DePrince recalled a picture she found in Sierra Leone of a ballet dancer that gave her inspiration.
“It was a picture of a ballerina… And seeing that dancer and seeing it at such a terrible time of my life, it just completely gave me hope and I thought to myself: if I ever got adopted maybe I could be just like this person. And I just kept holding onto that magazine until I got adopted. And now I’m a ballerina. Well, hoping to become a ballerina!”
Despite the overwhelming challenges of surviving a war and coming to America, Michaela has emerged on top.
The story you just read is available for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
Make a gift today, and you’ll get us one step closer to our goal of raising $25,000 by June 14. We need your help now more than ever!