Introducing Stephanie: The Ballet Dancing Postcard Finder

Stephanie”

What? Sorry, what? I had to read it several times. “I just got back to New York where I am a ballet dancer”.

In this whole experience I knew it was a given that I would learn new things. But the skill of trying not to shout with joy, cry with emotion and refrain from wetting myself with excitement was quite something.

Also, I was so excited to hear that Stephanie took the postcard back with her to the Big Apple. Alexandre was a Parisian that had found the postcard at his local Amelie cafe (so beautiful in itself) and I find it amazing that the others were found by people who live around the world.

Of course, when I received this email it was not long before I was on Facebook or emailing and messaging all over the place.

A short while after I had told the Paris crew the NY postcard response news, Beccy (my housemate and close friend), told me to keep a date free in my diary to hang out. She wouldn’t tell me what we were doing for a while but revealed closer to the night that her wonderful mum, Sue, had got us tickets to see a dress rehearsal of, ‘War Letters’ – a Ballet Black performance at the Royal Opera House. Stephanie’s recommendation became a reality. I was so glad to be going.

A dress rehearsal is a fantastic thing to go and see. You hear commentary throughout from the choreographer, get to understand the story better and receive a real insight into how much it takes to get a show as perfect as possible. A Q&A followed the performance and as the fun came to a close, we had an idea. I should try to meet one of the company to tell them why I had come to watch. Bec and her mum were the perfect people to have around to encourage this! So, off I went against the grain of the crowd filtering out of the Theatre and down the stairs to sneak closer to the stage. It worked out well because I bumped into one of the dancers. I told him my story. He loved it. Oh and he just happened to know who Stephanie is.

To recap – I met a dancer in the Royal Opera House who knows the girl in NYC who happened to pick up my postcard in a book shop in Paris. I never, ever expected anything like this to happen.

Chris Marney was the choreographer for this Ballet Black performance. Chris is not only a talented and well-respected choreographer, he is also a dancer who has performed with several companies and has been involved in some of Matthew Bourne’s works. Totally by chance we bumped into him in the foyer. Luck was on my side that night.

So there you have it – Stephanie is the latest finder to join the postcard story. I’m still gobsmacked – utterly gobsmacked.

I guess I will just speak to you on Sunday, folks.

Enjoy your weekends!

P.S Happy Birthday Dad 🙂 x