QTIX

Maitreyah Guenther didn’t know her brother had Down Syndrome until she was 9 years old. That’s because it never seemed to matter, he was just her big brother Kayah. The brother who made her laugh, protected her when she was scared and got her dancing when she was too shy.

Glass Child* is their story. Two remarkable siblings who created a safe space for themselves in a world that was quick to judge. A space that’s free from shame and full of beauty and humour. And it’s a space where, through their generosity, they invite the rest of us back in for an emotionally wrought and powerful meeting of dance and storytelling that raises a bold middle finger to the naysayers of the world.

Throughout their lives Maitreyah has watched as her older brother Kayah has been left out, ridiculed or ignored without understanding why. Glass Child puts a microscope on their love and how their relationship has grown. It questions how the rest of us behave when we find the difference we inevitably look for. It asks us to examine why we search for difference when we share so much in common.

*The term ‘Glass Child’ refers to the siblings of someone with special needs who often becomes a facilitator in the family, someone who is ‘looked through’.