ELIZABETH MENSAH

I was about 13 when I decided that I wanted to be a professional ballet dancer. From that time on, I’ve never doubted that choice. Having such a sense of purpose throughout my adolescence was actually a wonderful thing. I saw a lot of my peers struggling to figure out what their passion might be, and I felt lucky to already know that dance was

Occupation: Professional dancer, Ballet Memphis.

First job: The summer I graduated high school, I tutored elementary school children at a day camp in Chicago.

Can’t live without: Talking with my family and my two best friends on the phone and Skype. Being away from people I love is hard, but technology really helps minimize the distance.

Favorite spot in Memphis to hang out with friends: The Beauty Shop restaurant in Cooper-Young. I love their Nutella milkshakes.

In 10 years: I hope to have a healthy body, to be dancing in an organization where I’m being challenged and inspired, both personally and artistically.

Folks would be surprised if they knew: I can whistle extremely accurately.

mine.

Performing the role of the Wicked Stepmother in Ballet Memphis’ “Cinderella” at the Orpheum theater in April. It was my first time performing in a featured role with a professional dance company, and dancing alone on a stage as big as the Orpheum is alternately terrifying and exhilarating. That experience reminded me why I love to perform.

How many interesting things there are to see and do in the city, and how large it is, geographically speaking. I generally learn about new places to go and things to do in Memphis by getting lost while driving through the city, which happens pretty frequently for me.

My family, my best friend, the lakefront and deep - dish pizza.

“Where Snowflakes Dance and Swear: Inside the Land of Ballet,” by Stephen Manes. The author is a journalist who decided to write a behind-the -scenes book about the ballet world from an outsider’s perspective. He spent a year with a professional ballet company in Seattle to research the book, which ended up being 900 pages long. It’s so detailed and comprehensive, but fun to read. I think anybody curious about the life of a professional dancer would enjoy it .

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