ABT Dancer, After Some Frantic Press Coverage, May Meet Birth Mother

“When ballet star Jennifer Whalen flies to South Korea next month, she’ll have a lot more on her mind than what tights and slippers to pack. Whalen, 26, is somewhat of a media sensation in the Asian nation — and not because of her work on stage as a senior corps member of the American Ballet Theater. The Koreans are fascinated with her because she’s one of their own: She was born there, left at an ophanage, and adopted four months later by a loving Irish-American couple. But now, she may finally be able to meet the woman who gave birth to her and then gave her up.”