Review | Symphonic baby: room for wonder

Of “Oh! “, of” Again! and many happy but untranslatable babbles arose under the dome of the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium on Sunday. The source of these wonders? symphonic babyshow specially designed for infants from 0 to 18 months. The Press attended it with little Ludivine.

Veronique Larocque
The Press

The hall is called the Théâtre du Chaos. Should we see a warning there? After all, the public of symphonic baby is made up of very young children…

Upon entering the room, we are miles away from the dreaded atmosphere. Under a subdued light, we are warmly welcomed by the staff of the Planetarium. By settling into one of the many bean bag chairs, you even feel a certain relief. Curious, Ludivine, 16 months, plays with the cushions of different shapes spread out on the floor while waiting for the start of the performance.

The host invites the crowd to settle down comfortably. Everything has been thought out so that families are comfortable: changing tables, nappies and bottle warmers are available to them.

The room darkens, then stars appear on the vault of the dome. Children’s eyes widen as the first of the album’s seven tracks begins symphonic babyinterpreted by the Orchester symphonique de Montréal, under the direction of Simon Leclerc, the composer of this music.

Then, the room lights up and the constellations give way to pencil lines and shapes in primary colors.

When the vault darkens again, we discover funny origami characters: rabbits, frogs and owls trigger laughter at the other end of the room.

For little Ludivine, it is the appearance of dozens of marbles taking different trajectories on the 360-degree screen that amazes her. “Wow! she says, captivated.

While the seven paintings follow one another on the vault, we see that an even more beautiful and moving spectacle is taking place in the room. Happy to see each other, the babies interact with each other. They point to each other, smile, laugh.

“It’s the first time he’s seen so many children. He doesn’t go to daycare,” a mother is heard saying.

The ability to form fleeting friendships seems new to many of these babies born during the pandemic.

“He was so impressed to see other children,” says Marie-Claude Halde, mother of Axel, 11 months, at the end of the show.

Her spouse Anthony Boudreault and she enjoyed it very much symphonic babya too rare cultural activity for infants, underlines the couple.

“A great stimulation”

Mother of Flavie, 16 months, Julie Dumont-Paquet feared that her daughter would not hold up. “In general, she runs everywhere, she climbs everywhere. I wasn’t sure it was going to be fun, ”she said, adding that it was her spouse who had bought the tickets. Finally, Flavie was fascinated by the show. “With the image, the sound, I think that even babies who are very active are challenged. »

Although she is older, 3-year-old Romy enjoyed “everything, everything, everything” about the performance. The girl was accompanied by her brother Marlo, 11 months, and their parents Maude Dagenais and Pier-Luc Melançon. “It’s a great stimulation for the children. It’s wonderful, ”says the father.

Josée de Montigny, grandma of little Maxence, underlines for her part that she had a “super good time” glued to her grandson.

At the end of the 33 minutes that lasts symphonic baby, Ludivine formulates her criticism. “Again,” she said, pointing to the screen. Well, the audience has spoken.

symphonic babyfollowed by Stardust at the Rio Tinto Alcan Planetarium, until June 19. Additional in the fall.