DePrince to shine light on inclusivity and breaking of barriers in the ballet world

WITH one month to go before the 8th South African International Ballet Competition (SAIBC) starts at Artscape, founder and chief executive Dirk Badenhorst has announced that ballerina Michaela DePrince will host a live-streamed panel discussion on inclusivity and the breaking of barriers in the ballet world.

It will take place on July 22 at 4pm, one of two expert-led conversations during the week-long competition.

The other panel discussion will be held on July 20 and will be about dancer health and well-being, and it will be facilitated by The Healthy Young Dancer Project.

DePrince, 26, whose personal story has been told throughout the world, is a Forbes Class of 2020 Honouree and ambassador for War Child Holland.

Born in Sierra Leone, she lost both her parents in that country’s civil war.

Having a skin condition called vitiligo that causes patches of skin to lose colour, she was rejected by her family who saw it as a curse, and was placed in an orphanage where she endured taunting and abuse as a little girl.

Here she found a magazine with a picture of a ballerina on the cover, a life-changing moment that gave her hope and fuelled her determination to one day become the same.

She moved to the US after being adopted by an American family who recognised her talent and sent her for ballet lessons.

Going from strength to strength, she entered the Youth America Grand Prix and won a scholarship to American Ballet Theatre’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet in New York.

Around that time, Badenhorst invited her to South Africa as a guest with SA Mzansi Ballet, where she made her professional debut, returning a second time to star in La Bayadère with Joburg Ballet.

In a message to the competitors via the SAIBC’s Instagram page, she said: “I just want to say how excited I am to be part of this competition.

“I know we are all going through crazy times right now, trying to find different ways to express ourselves and the SAIBC is giving us an opportunity.

“I can’t wait to see you all onstage just doing what you love and I wish you all the best!”

Access to the discussions is through the SAIBC’s Facebook and YouTube channels while a small audience will watch the proceedings on a big screen onstage at Artscape.

The competition week is from July 19 to 24 with tickets through Computicket and the ArtOfLife app.

For more info visit www.saibc.com and download the ArtOfLife app via the iStore https://apple.co/3vHDhfg and the Google Play Store https://bit. ly/3nLJjc9.