Transforming Unfulfillment to Liberation: Plucking Strings, Engaging Bodies, and Pouring Thoughts in The Pipa Walkers
- Elspeth Chan
- Apr 21
- 5 min read
Engaged in an exploration of the synergies between pipa playing and movement, The Pipa Walkers offered a compelling insight into the creative processes of Hong Kong-based artists Eveline Wong and Ivy Tsui. This work-in-progress performance, held at Siobhan Davies Studios (SDS), revolved around improvisation, blending music, poetry, and movement into a unique interdisciplinary experience. Visitors were invited to participate actively, beginning with a collective warm-up exploring directional movements, speeds and levels. They then drew cards inscribed with pipa fingering techniques and excerpts from the classical Chinese poem The Ballad of the Wandering Lute (琵琶行) by Bai Juyi (白居易), which served as the thematic backbone of the performance.
From Techniques to Poetic Resonance
Central to the performance was the integration of six excerpts from the Tang dynasty poem alongside six pipa techniques (out of 70), showcasing the instrument’s distinctive fingerings and tonalities. The first round began with a visitor selecting the card for sweeping forward & backward (掃拂), paired with these evocative lines:
大弦嘈嘈如急雨 The bass strings rush noisily like pelting rain,
小弦切切如私語 And high-pitched ones fleeting like private whispers.
嘈嘈切切錯雜彈 Like the roaring and sighing intricately jumbling in weltering mixture,
大珠小珠落玉盤 Like small and large pearls dropping on a jade platter.
With the pipa played upright and plucked with the right hand, the left hand controls pitch by pressing on a fretted fingerboard. The sweeping technique involves striking three or four strings simultaneously, producing penetrating and unrestrained tones. Brushing against the studio floor to start, Ivy’s expressive and rhythmic movements attuned to the rain motif while circular gestures created from spinal turns and waving hands mirrored rolling pearls. Her physicality intensified as the pipa’s tonal climax unfolded. At one point, Ivy’s body embodied an imaginary gearwheel, spinning in harmony with the curves of the rooftop studio—a moment of profound artistic resonance. Drawing to an end, Ivy’s nuanced hand gestures imitated Eveline’s fingering, as if her body was transformed into a pipa.
In the second round, another visitor drew excerpts reflecting themes of connection and nostalgia:
我聞琵琶已歎息 Already in sighs upon hearing your lute,
又聞此言重唧唧 Weightier had they become upon hearing your words.
同是天涯淪落人 At the world’s edge, impoverished we two had become,
相逢何必曾相識 Now having met, regret no longer of not before met.
This time, Eveline played the techniques tremolo (輪指) and harmonics (泛音) on her instrument. Tremolo, a signature pipa technique, creates a smooth rolling effect as fingertips pluck strings sequentially, while harmonics are produced by gently pressing onto the strings for ethereal tones. A visitor’s shamanic drum added an almost tangible musical aurora while Ivy stretched her arms horizontally and vertically as if tracing the sonic dots produced from the pipa — a visual metaphor for connection. When the drum and pipa synchronized, Ivy’s body followed gravity to touch the floor while reaching an openness yet to be cultivated—a poignant embodiment of unknown longing that mirrored the sorrowful resonance of the poem.
Collaborative Origins and Integration
The collaboration between Ivy and Eveline emerged organically after a Chinese music concert in February 2024 where both performed. Eveline recalls encouragement from her teacher, Professor Xiao-Xiong Zhang at the Taipei National University of the Arts (TNUA), who recognized her talent for integrating dance into music. Their first meeting at Eveline’s living room evolved into discussions about technical aspects like spatial dynamics and philosophical questions such as “What does warm-up mean?” These exchanges laid the foundation for their partnership.
The 1st April sharing at SDS marked their third public engagement after previous rounds in London (September 2024) and Edinburgh (March 2025). Both artists view visitors not merely as spectators but as active participants whose presence shapes their creative process. Eveline navigates sensitivity from visitors’ mumblings as a musician while embracing them as teammates; Ivy focuses on how the synergy of the lived experiences from the visitors, Eveline and herself influences or even facilitates the improvisation.
Improvisation as Liberation
Improvisation forms the core of The Pipa Walkers. For Eveline, it represents liberation from rigid expectations—an antidote to past frustrations where minor mistakes caused disproportionate distress. Meditation has helped her embrace improvisation as a sensory experience that fosters imagination. For Ivy, improvisation is not only a departure from ballet’s emphasis on form by allowing her to witness herself anew while liberating her creativity from judgment; most importantly, improvisation acts as a bridge to connect her with others beyond verbal and bodily languages. The pair’s approach to improvisation transcends result-driven creativity by fostering self-awareness, mindfulness and self-care. Mindfulness becomes a clear theme as with a specific selection of fingering techniques, Eveline likens her process to exploring an empty canvas rather than focusing on isolated dots. Her senses then open up and she becomes aware of the presence of other bodies. Ivy, who is fascinated in deconstructing the texts, finds limitless possibilities within a grain of dot through embodiment.
Reflection on Poetic Choices & Improvisation
The pair honestly shared a trivial conflict in choosing the texts—Ivy appreciates the timeless poetic resonance from this Tang dynasty literature, whereas Eveline initially proposed using contemporary Hong Kong poetry. However, this eventually sparked an enrichment to their collaboration; the melancholic yet vivid imagery of the poem also resonates deeply with Eveline’s life journey. The chosen excerpts balance emotional depth with easy understanding for contemporary readers. Indeed, the encounter between the poet and the pipa player by the river, as discussed during the Q&A on April 1, exudes the poet’s frustration with his career and life—a sentiment that resonates deeply with the experiences of many Hong Kongers currently living in the UK.
The Pipa Walkers exemplifies how improvisation can transform unfulfillment into liberation—artistically and personally. Through their reciprocal interplay of music, movement, poetry, and visitors’ participation, Eveline Wong and Ivy Tsui have created a work that shines poetically, celebrating self-awareness and self-care for all. Improvisation deepens Ivy’s awareness of how her body interacts with other people, objects, spaces, and situations. For Eveline, it feels like a meditative and healing practice, where the pipa becomes another self in the subconscious realm, while living in the present becomes an essential part of her life. After making the decisive move to relocate to a new country, the fluid and adaptable nature of improvisation enables the pair to navigate decisions moment by moment. The evening beautifully illustrated their journey from artistic collaboration to shared care and liberation.
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Read the full version of The Ballad of The Wandering Lute here: https://jeffinous.blogspot.com/2020/12/ballad-of-wandering-lute.html
