Adopted U.S. dancer looking for birth family

In this year`s American Ballet Theater tour, Jennifer Whalen, one of the corps de ballet dancers, is visiting the country to perform and find her birth parents. "It`s my first time visiting Korea since then and I really wish I could stay longer," said Whalen, 23.
Whalen, who was adopted into an American family when she was 3 months old, is not getting as much attention as the leading dancers, but intends to find her family during her stay here.
"I`ve always wanted to come back and find them here and did make some efforts prior to visiting the country," the dancer said.
However, the only things that she knows about her background are her Korean name, Nam Ji-yeon, that she was born in Seoul in 1985 and that her adoption number was 85C-283.
She added that she was not that desperate to find her birth relatives since she was raised by a good family in Ventura, California. Yet, she hopes to find them, communicate with them and talk about the lives they have lived during the past 23 years.



▲Jennifer Whalen [Sejong Center]

Also, she does not have any harsh feelings toward her birth parents, since she would not have been in her current position had she not been adopted, she said.

Whalen started dancing at the age 7 after watching the well-known repertoire "Copelia." When she was 10, she told herself that she would have a career as a ballet dancer when she grew up.
Since then the dancer has remained grounded in ballet, never regretting her decision. Instead of attending school full-time or going to college, she decided to make an early debut as a dancer, thinking that the dancing life of a ballerina was rather short.
She made her professional debut in New York City at age 17. In 2003, she joined ABT as an apprentice when Kevin McKenzie, the troupe`s current artistic director, offered her a position at their corps de ballet.
"I think I was very lucky to have not gone through huge international auditions to get in to ABT," Whalen said. "From now on, I want to keep growing as a dancer and artist, expand my repertoire and of course get better roles in the troupe."
The ballerina said she has been shopping and eating her favorite Korean foods like bulgogi and marinated pork rib.
"I definitely want to come back, not only to find my mother, but also to just have fun and tour the city."

By Koh Young-aah

(youngaah@heraldm.com)


2008.08.04