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Alan Chen and the New Arcadia Puppet Troupe
Hand Puppets from Taiwan performing a traditional folktale "Grand-aunt Tiger"
Chinese immigrants introduced puppetry, as well as many other art forms, into Taiwan. However, Taiwanese puppetry acquired its own distinct cultural features and style as Taiwan gradually evolved from an immigrant and agrarian society to an industrial society. As far as Taiwan's traditional theater is concerned, the cultural significance of puppetry outweighs everything else. This troupe explains the history of Taiwanese puppetry, different Taiwanese puppet performance styles, and the influence of Taiwanese puppetry while performing traditional Chinese folktales with exquisite hand puppets.