Ballerina Michaela DePrince, whose career inspired many after she was born into war, dies at 29

Ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince, who came to the United States from an orphanage in war-torn Sierra Leone and performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, has died. She was 29. Her family said in a statement posted Friday that DePrince “touched so many lives across the world, including ours.” DePrince was adopted by an American couple and by age 17 had been featured in a documentary film and performed on the TV show “Dancing With the Stars.” She was a principal dancer at the Dance Theatre of Harlem and later danced with the Dutch National Ballet and the Boston Ballet. No cause of death was provided.