Quite honestly, I seem to be spending more time watching TV series than reading any good books. Anyway, let me continue in the spirit of music and good vibes. What better vibe to feature than dance, specifically Ballet 🙂 . I know pretty much nothing about Ballet or the intricacies of the dance. However, I do appreciate the art form that is Ballet and the general twirls and lifts. The girl in me can’t help but love the outfits of ballerinas too.
I must say that Ballet and Africa don’t picture well in my mind. It is hard to imagine a world class ballerina emerging from the depths of Africa. It is even to harder to imagine a talented and passionate ballerina emerging from the war torn areas of  Africa. However, I have been forced to think again. The war torn areas of Africa at their worst, can strip humans of their will to live and at best, strip humans of passion and desire in their daily lives. One girl has proven that it is possible to come out of tragic circumstances move on and still lead a passionate life.
Michaela DePrince is 17 years old. She was born in war-torn Senegal. Her parents died during the war and she was left an orphan. That enough, would send a person lost and out of control. In addition to this, she was born with a skin condition known as Vitiligo which creates discolouration in sections of the skin. Due to this condition, she was considered ‘a devils child’ in the orphanage and was ranked at the bottom of the social pyramid. One thing that struck me about her story was the fact that she kept a picture of a ballerina with her when she was in the children’s home. The picture was a source of inspiration for her and lit the ‘dance flame’ in her life, so to speak. Eventually, she one day achieved her dream to dance as a ballerina. This part of her story really shows the power of visualisation. She never lost sight of her source of inspiration and keeping the picture motivated her. When going through the motions of life or when activities become monotonous, it’s great to have something to remind you why you are doing what you do. That source of inspiration can go a long way.
In this day and age, Michaela has encountered people who have discriminated against her and disregarded her because of the colour of her skin. At 17, she has been through so much and now has to continue to break the barriers against racial discrimination in Ballet. I really wish her all the best and look forward to watching her in a Ballet. In my opinion, Michaela’s passion for dance has definitely propelled her to where she is. At 17, she is young and definitely has a bright future.
One crucial part of her story is the fact that she has had people to support her. She has had the love and support of her adoptive parents. They took her in as their child, realised her talent and supported her in going for her dreams. Without a doubt, I think it’s important to have people to support you and who love and encourage you. Even if it’s not a family member, it’s good to have someone on your team. It is a cliché’ but surrounding yourself with positive and supportive people goes a long way in making you a better person.
I would still love to know more about Ballet and appreciate the dance. I actually watched the Nutcracker once. It was good but I was so far back I couldn’t see everything L I would love to see a more contemporary Ballet too. I think I’ll put a picture somewhere and ‘visualise’ me seeing a contemporary Ballet one day.lol  🙂
Here’s a link of her on Youtube..
dmarielitclub 