Ballet dancer Michaela Mabinty DePrince, who overcame the challenges of her early childhood in war-torn Sierra Leone to become a pioneering performer and choreographer, has passed away.

DePrince died on Tuesday, according to a statement from her family shared on her sister Mia DePrince’s Instagram on Sunday. In a previous statement released on Friday, the family noted that the dancer, who graced the stages of the Dance Theater of Harlem, the Dutch National Ballet, and Boston Ballet, leaves ‘an indelible mark on the world of ballet, and beyond.’ She was 29.

The cause of Michaela DePrince’s death was not disclosed in either statement. However, Sunday’s message dispelled rumors linking her death to that of her mother, Elaine DePrince, who adopted Michaela and Mia in the ’90s. Elaine DePrince passed away on Wednesday during a routine procedure in preparation for surgery and was unaware of her daughter’s passing at the time, as clarified in Sunday’s statement.

‘The only way we can make sense of the senseless is that Elaine, who had already lost three children many years ago, was by the grace of God spared the pain of experiencing the loss of a fourth child,’ the family said. ‘What the family is going through right now is truly unimaginably painful. Grieving two family members within a 24-hour period is tragic and devastating.’

As news of Michaela DePrince’s death spread over the weekend, prominent figures in the ballet and dance community, including American Ballet Theater principal dancer Misty Copeland and Debbie Allen, paid tribute to the late performer.

Michaela had so much more to give, not just to ballet, but to the world. Her legacy will continue to inspire generations of dancers, but her absence leaves a void that will be deeply felt,” Copeland shared on Instagram.

“Your footprints will forever reverberate around the world,” Allen remarked about DePrince, who recently participated as a guest artist in Allen’s dance academy’s summer program. “You brought a light that inspired millions of brown girls to rise to an unprecedented level of resilience and continue to dream.”

DePrince seemed limitless on stage, performing pieces from ballet classics like “Don Quixote,” “Swan Lake,” and “Coppélia” to George Balanchine’s “Who Cares” and “Jewels” with undeniable grace, strength, and precision. Beyond the ballet world, DePrince also showcased her talents in mainstream media, appearing on “Dancing With the Stars” and collaborating with brands such as Nike and Tommy Hilfiger. She also worked with pop icons Beyoncé, for her “Lemonade” visual album, and Madonna, who was set to adapt the dancer’s life for the screen.

Offstage, Michaela DePrince used her platform to advocate for children affected by war as an ambassador for War Child, raise awareness about her vitiligo, share her experiences as a Black dancer, and promote diversity in the ballet world.

‘I would like to change the way people see Black dancers,’ she told the Guardian in 2012. ‘I just want to be a great role model for kids. I would hate to disappoint anybody.’

Born on January 6, 1995, in Sierra Leone during a civil war that claimed her parents’ lives, DePrince was labeled ‘the devil’s child’ at her orphanage due to her vitiligo. She found hope in a magazine photo of an American ballerina in pointe shoes.

‘I ripped the page out and I stuck it in my underwear because I didn’t have any place to put it,’ she told the Associated Press in 2012.

Elaine and Charles DePrince adopted Michaela and her sister in 1999. Michaela studied at the Rock School of Dance in Pennsylvania and competed at the Youth America Grand Prix, a prestigious international ballet competition featured in the documentary ‘First Position.’ The competition awarded her a scholarship to continue her studies at the American Ballet Theater’s Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School.