The most dramatic reconnection with one of the dancers happened in San Francisco on 21st April 2023. I was doing a slideshow presentation at CSM (College of San Mateo, not Corn Soy Milk), showing pictures of  refugee camp dance classes taken in 1980. During the talk I said, jokingly, “By the way, if you see yourself in any of these photos, please tell me.” 

Immediately, a woman stood up at the back of the hall and ran towards the stage, pointing at the screen and shouting “That’s me!”  At first, I was alarmed, thinking it might be an assassination attempt, but my initial panic soon gave way to bewildered surprise. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a chance to talk to her after the show, and we didn’t even get her name. We wanted to find out who she was, and if she was still a dancer.

Luckily, this magic moment was captured by Kunthary de Gaiffier, who took these photos. Thanks, Kunthary!

Later, Kunthary managed to contact the woman. Her name is Tey Chan, and she was 14-15 years old when the photo was taken. She joined the dance class mainly because food was provided. There were two options: one was literacy classes and the other was dance, and she joined the dance class because it was more fun and easier to get food. Tey Chan said she was very moved by the photo. Later, when she bought the book and examined the picture, she discovered that one of the onlookers in the background was the man she would later marry.

Soon after, Tey Chan got married and moved to Kamput camp, where she and her husband awaited third country resettlement. At Kamput there were no dance classes. In July 1983 she arrived in the USA via the Philippines, first in Colorado, then moved to California. She never took up classical dance again. She has two daughters and four grandchildren.