A new memoir takes flight, detailing the life of Michaela DePrince, showcasing her dramatic journey from a West Africa orphanage to becoming one of ballet's most meteoric stars.
Known as Number 27 at her orphanage, she was tormented in her formative years, called names like "devil child," for a skin condition called "vitiligo." But at age four she was adopted by a well-to-do American family who encouraged her dancing and enrolled her in the right course to begin her venture into dancing.
With quite the resume and accolade, Michaela was featured in a 2012 doc First Position which followed her as she became a finalist at the Youth America Grand Prix in New York; was awarded a scholarship to The Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of the American Ballet Theatre in 2012; appeared on Dancing With the Stars, Good Morning America, Nightline, the BBC and other new programs; was named in the Huffington Post as one of their "18 Under 18: HuffPost Teen's List of the Most Amazing People of the Year" and was cited in Newsweek/The Daily Beast's "125 Women of Impact," to name a few.
And, finally, after a year as the youngest dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem dance company, she joined the Dutch National Ballet Junior Company.
Taking Flight (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers) will hit shelves October 14 and is for ages twelve and up. It will be worth every penny.
To wit, here's Michaela and Skyler Maxery-Wert.
