We sat down with Cathy Waller to talk about Cathy Waller Company’s new triptych of live dance, film and visual art, You & Us that asks timely and urgent questions about invisibility, identity and what it truly means to be seen.
You & Us tours to Winchester (24 March), Bradford (10 April), Ipswich (17 April), Liverpool (24 April) London (7 May), and Banbury (13 May).
Tickets are available at www.cathywaller.com/you-and-us
What inspired you to create You & Us as a triptych blending live dance, film and visual art within Cathy Waller Company?
It was two things really, the first being the artistic challenge. I wanted to step beyond my usual ways of creating dance for stage or outdoor audiences and push myself into something a bit unknown. The idea of building a triptych felt both exciting and daunting, but it felt natural that this work needed to be experienced in multiple ways.
The second was the story behind the work. I wanted to explore different visual forms so the ideas could reach more people and allow more audiences to see themselves reflected in it. Bringing together dance, film and photography felt like a way to open doors between art forms, inviting photography audiences into dance, and dance audiences into film and visual art. Seeing people’s reactions to seeing dance for the first time has been so joyous.
How did drawing on the lived experiences of more than 400 collaborators shape the emotional core of You & Us?
Listening to people’s experiences of invisibility was incredibly powerful. The project began with my own reflections of being disabled and that largely being invisible to others, and how that shapes the way I move through the world day to day. But as I began speaking with friends and colleagues, I realised that the feeling of carrying something unseen reaches far beyond my own experience.
We connected with hundreds of adults and young people through workshops, conversations, surveys and informal chats – sometimes over coffee, sometimes across continents. What became clear very quickly was that almost everyone holds something hidden at times: whether it’s masking emotions, hiding parts of ourselves to feel safe, or simply carrying things others can’t see.
As a choreographer with a hidden disability, how does your personal perspective inform the themes of invisibility and identity in this work?
My perspective really sits at the root of the work. Many of the themes come from experiences I recognise – the feeling of being unseen, misunderstood or quietly judged, and the isolation that can sometimes follow. But there are also moments where invisibility can bring a kind of protection or choice, moments of joy and harmony, and that complexity felt important to explore too.
What stayed with me most during the process was how often people spoke about empathy. Again and again, the conversations circled back to the simple reminder that everyone is carrying something. If we could hold onto that – that sense of shared humanity – perhaps there would be less struggle and more understanding. The work has become a reflection of that, a reminder that we are often more alike than we realise.
What did filming You are also Us across National Trust sites in Dorset add to the sense of scale and visibility within the project?
Interestingly, the scale and beauty of the landscapes intensified the themes of invisibility and isolation within the film. Standing in these vast, open spaces makes you feel both connected to the world and incredibly small within it, which mirrored many of the emotions explored in the work.
Working with the National Trust was a real privilege. Their partnership allowed us access to extraordinary locations that brought the film to life in a way we could never have imagined otherwise. One moment I’ll always remember is watching fifteen dancers move together at sunrise near Old Harry Rocks, with the chalk cliffs and waves crashing below. It was breathtaking in all the ways imaginable.
How does the collaboration with MOBO Award-winning musician Lewis Wright influence the physicality and rhythm of the live performance?
Music sits at the heart of how I create movement, so working with Lewis (who I met 20 years ago when we were both studying at TrinityLaban) has had a huge influence on the physical language of the piece. Almost everything I choreograph begins with the way music makes me feel – something instinctive and human that sparks the desire to move.
Lewis has created a score that carries the audience through a real emotional journey. At times it feels energetic and uplifting, making you want to leap into the movement alongside the dancers. In the next moment it can become incredibly intimate and reflective, drawing you inward. That emotional shift shapes the rhythm of the choreography and allows the dancers to move between strength, vulnerability, and connection. There’s an eclectic mix of driving rhythmic beats, harmonious voices and soothing strings.
With Unseen | Unmasked by The1Harris completing the triptych, how important is it that audiences encounter multiple perspectives on neurodivergence and being truly seen?
It feels essential, because neurodivergence – like identity itself – is never one size fits all. Each person’s experience is different, and that diversity is something to celebrate rather than simplify. Too often we make assumptions about who someone is or how they experience the world, and those assumptions rarely tell the full story.
Having multiple voices within the triptych allows audiences to encounter different perspectives and ways of seeing. Harris’s work adds another layer to that conversation, expanding the dialogue around visibility, identity and understanding. Ultimately, I hope it encourages people to pause, listen more closely, and approach one another with a little more empathy. If we can remember that everyone is navigating something, perhaps we can be slower to judge and more open to allowing people – and ourselves – the space to simply be who we are.