Yi-que Huang, China,
Soloprogram with scenes for string puppets

Roser met Yi-que Huang, the most famous and highly respected marionette puppeteer of China, on his tour with GUSTAF AND HIS ENSEMBLE last year in Kanton. He began performing when he was 13 years old in his hometown Quanzhou in Fujian - like Roser 50 years ago. His marionettes were destroyed during the cultural revolution. Afterwards, he constructed his figures himself, and achieved a level of outstanding quality. He could draw on a 1000 year tradition - opera and puppetry are two of the oldest art forms in China.
His marionettes are set in motion by way of 30 strings held together on a simple piece of wood in the leading hand. Mr. Huang grabs into the strings, holds them tightly in a position like a "chord", thus producing certain movement sequences. While performing, he shortens or lengthens his hold of the strings, in order to create and play with new "chords". This method demands a high degree of dexterity with long hours of practice in order to master the movements of the marionette. His performance resembles that of a musician on a melodious string-instrument. Without using any "technical" equipment, he achieves results similar to what we achieve only through modern technique.