“She’s Tutu Good,” New Era, Feb. 2009, 46
She’s Tutu Good
Get to know Whitney Jensen, who has reached the top of the ballet world.
Having recently won a prestigious award at a renowned international ballet competition, Whitney Jensen can look forward to an exciting future filled with arabesque, pas de deux, and grand jeté. Find out a little more about her.
How long have you been dancing? I’ve been dancing since I was about three years old.
Ballet takes a lot of commitment. How do you maintain balance in your life? I go to seminary every morning. I’ve just had a lot of gospel focus in my life. I’ve never set that aside to do just ballet. It’s always been a good balance. It’s probably just the way I grew up with my family. We’ve always had strong gospel teachings at home.
Do you get a lot of peer pressure? None of my friends are Mormon. I just stick out. For example, I don’t see rated-R movies, and they know that, which is cool. All my friends are good at not pressuring me to do anything. So it’s nice, because I can set an example for people and build my own identity.
What motivates you to do what you do? What I enjoy most is being able to share what I’ve been given, because I know that my purpose is to show the talents that I was given. When I was in Bulgaria that was my main purpose—just to share what I have and what I’ve been working for.
What’s your favorite thing to do besides dance? I like to spend time with my family. My sister lives five minutes away, and I like to go over to her house. She just had a baby, so I hang out with my niece. And I like to go to movies.
What’s the most important thing for other LDS teens to know about you? I have discovered that Heavenly Father knows everyone, and He listens to everyone’s prayers. He answered my prayers while I was away. He took hold of me. And I could feel that everyone back home was praying for me. Prayer plays the most important role.
Photographs by John Luke