Taking Flight: From War Orphan to Star Ballerina

Elaine DePrince · Michaela DePrince

Oct 2015 · Tantor Media Inc · Narrated by Allyson Johnson

About this audiobook

Michaela DePrince was known as girl no. 27 at the orphanage, where she was abandoned at a young age and tormented as a "devil child" for a skin condition that makes her skin appear spotted. But it was at the orphanage that Michaela would find a picture of a beautiful ballerina en pointe that would help change the course of her life. At the age of four, Michaela was adopted by an American family, who encouraged her love of dancing and enrolled her in classes. She went on to study at the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School at the American Ballet Theatre and now dances for the Dutch National Ballet. In this engaging, moving, and unforgettable memoir, Michaela shares her dramatic journey from an orphan in West Africa to becoming one of ballet's most exciting rising stars.

About the author

Elaine DePrince is coauthor, with her daughter Michaela, of several books, including Ballerina Dreams and Hope in a Ballet Shoe.

Michaela DePrince is a Sierra Leonean American ballet dancer. She has appeared in the ballet documentary First Position, as well as on Dancing with the Stars, Good Morning America, and Nightline.

Allyson Johnson began her entertainment career in her hometown of Chicago as an Emmy Award-winning child news anchor. A graduate of Brown University, she is a working actress, singer, and audiobook narrator in the New York City metropolitan area.