Babelut Parcours is a format tailored to the very youngest (0-5 years) and their (grand)parents. International artists and music or dance educators guide the audience through an experience trail full of musical theatre, sound installations and lots of musical interactions. The result is an extraordinary adventure where concert, play and workshop blend seamlessly.

Babelut Parcours ZIMZUM is a co-production of Musica Impulse Centre, C-takt and collective Down The Rabbit Hole. (Kaja Farszky - percussionist, Hanna Kölbel - cellist, Filipa Botelho/Dries Tack - clarinetist and Daniel Nunes - sound engineer)

The Parcours start in the entrance hall. Two dancers welcome the little children by playing with them together with little blocks of mousse. This creates a safe environment, necessary for them to feel comfortable. The musicians play their opening music in the entrance hall. During the Parcours, they take the audience to the performance space, workshop space and back while playing like a little marching band.

The musicians zoom in and out on ‘Petroesjka’ by Stravinsky, composed and edited by Frédéric Verrières. Electronics that are live manipulated by a sound engineer, flow flawlessly into live acoustic music played by the collective Down the rabbit hole. This mix of electronic and acoustic music is unique for performance for the young target group. Not only can you hear the zooming in and out, but also in the scenography it becomes visual. Gigantic to very small mousse blocks form a wall, elements to play hide and seek with, or enormous building blocks. During this music performance, the musicians play with the blocks and visualize the music in this way, which is very important for this young target group.

After the first part, the children can discover and experiment with many things that they’ve heard and seen during the performance. First, two dancers invite the public to join them in an active moving game together with the blocks of mousse. Afterwards, they can discover music materials together with the musicians on various installations, both acoustic and electronic just like in the performance. Children join the artists and bring in their own ideas. The dancers and musicians develop sensitive musical interactions with the children and their (grand)parents. Children can follow the artists but also experiment on their own if they feel like doing it. It is important to allow them freedom in their play and not to force them to do anything. They can take a break as well if they need one.

In the last part of the performance, the musicians take the public with energetic melodies, through mesmerizing sounds. In interaction with the children and (grand)parents, a soft ostinato is created above which the musicians continue to make music. In the end, the musicians are all playing with the scenography and making the biggest tower they can. Come and see for yourself how this playing by the artists ends in a playing game for everyone.