'Bubbleogist' forms circle of fun

'Bubbleogist' forms circle of fun

By Yenni Kwok

JAKARTA (JP): The children went ooh and aah as the man in
black fascinated them with his bubble mastery.

He put bubbles inside bubbles. He pulled out a smaller bubble
from a bigger one, without destroying anything. He even pulled a
child onto the stage, trying to shell him with a giant bubble.

Meet Fan Yang, hailed as "the Master of Bubbles". His black
outfit makes him look more like a magician than a physics
enthusiast. But forget illusions and magic. His 30-minute show,
being staged at Dunia Fantasi in Ancol, North Jakarta, until July
21, proves that science is more than just a boring subject.

Science can also entertain.

Born to a Vietnamese mother and Hungarian father, Yang has
always been fascinated by stars, clouds and particularly
rainbows. But, unlike other children, he did not stop by simply
admiring or wishing upon the stars.

He was curious to find out how these natural phenomena occur.
He also dreamed that one day he could control the universe.

Yang may not be able to control the whole universe, but he can
certainly manipulate the world of bubbles. One Christmas one of
his friends gave him a bubble play-kit as a present. When Yang
started to experiment with it, he noticed how the bubbles could
reflect rainbow-like colors. The spectrum of lights interested
him and inspired him to study bubbles.

For the past 14 years, Yang has been studying the world of
bubbles. His studies are a combination of physics and chemistry.
He studies the light reflection, the right liquid soap and
various physical reactions.

His learning has paid off. The 34-year-old Yang has been
traveling around the world for 12 years, entertaining children in
Canada, where he now resides, the United States, Europe, South
America and Asia with his bubble tricks. But so far he has not
had the chance to perform in Vietnam, where he spent his first
two years, or the war-torn Yugoslavia, where he grew up.

"Someday, I will perform there," said Yang, who is nicknamed
"bubbleogist," meaning a scientist of bubbles in the States. In
1994, he entered the German version of the Guiness Book of
Records with his seven-feet diameter giant bubble. Yang also set
the record for the two previous years, in 1992 and 1993.

"It was great, achieving something that we thought could only
be a dream," said Yang.

Indeed, in his hands, bubbles do not seem to be as fragile as
they usually are. Yang's hands can easily touch a bubble without
breaking it.

Amazed, his little audience tried to imitate his skills. But
as soon as their fingers touched the bubbles floating toward
them... pop! The bubbles burst into thin air.

Yang takes pride in his skills and show, boasting: "This is a
unique kind of entertainment. Maybe I am the only one who has
made bubble science entertainment."

Accompanied by dreamy, New Age music and bright colorful
lights in contrast to the black drop, Yang's performance
transfers us to a semifantasy world.

The serious-looking Yang is no David Copperfield. There are no
high-charged theatrical acts. There are some funny acts, such as
when Yang gobbles some smoke-filled bubbles and exhales the
smoke.

Yang is not a chatterbox either. The only time he talked
during the show was when an amateur MC, with her heavy
Indonesian-accented English, chats with him and pushes a message
to the children that they too should learn science if they want
to be like Yang.

The audience does not seem to mind at all. They are satisfied
that Yang communicates with his fascinating bubbles and
occasionally, with his smile.

Smoke

Yang not only performs with regular air bubbles, but also uses
dry ice and smoke in his performances. He smokes a cigarette and
fills in some bubbles with the smoke he exhales.

No doubt, this creates a contradictory image. While blowing
bubbles is usually considered an innocent children's pastime,
smoking is largely considered a forbidden adult activity.

"I don't smoke myself," Yang said, adding that he smokes on
stage purely for practical reasons. "I use the smoke to make the
bubbles more obvious. If we put a transparent bubble, instead of
a smoky, white one, into another transparent bubble, it will be
difficult to see the effect."

Although the Master of Bubbles seems to know almost every
bubble trick, the little round globules of liquid and gas
sometimes have a mind of their own. They are unpredictable.

Therefore, don't expect every show to be perfect. In one show,
Yang tried to cover himself with a giant bubble, but the bubble
kept bursting halfway. The same thing also happened when he tried
to shell a young boy with his bubble.

Yang said that bubbles are very fragile and easily affected by
the wind, dust and humidity. The more humid, the better. The more
dusty a room is, the more fragile a bubble is.

Yang occasionally sprays water into the air to add humidity
and clear dust from the air. Yang also adds a few ingredients
into the soap mixture to make the bubbles stay longer.