In this Tuesday July 10, 2012 photo, dancer Michaela DePrince rehearses for her lead role in Le Corsaire in Johannesburg. DePrince, who was born in Sierra Leone, escaped the civil war and was adopted by a family in the U.S. This will be DePrince's first professional full ballet role. (AP Photo Denis Farrell)
July 11, 2012 - 12:21 PM
JOHANNESBURG - Michaela DePrince was little more than a toddler when she saw her first ballerina — an image in a magazine page blown against the gate of the orphanage where she ended up during civil war in the West African nation of Sierra Leone. It showed an American ballet dancer posed on tip toe.
The 17-year-old told The Associated Press this week that she wished "to become this exact person," and from the misery of the orphanage she saw hope in it.
Now Michaela is the one inspiring young Africans: she escaped the war in her homeland, was adopted by an American couple and hopes to become one of the few leading black female dancers in the world of professional ballet. Next week, she returns to Africa for the first time, where she will perform as a guest artist of South Africa's two biggest dance companies.
News from © The Associated Press, 2012