Award-winning choreographer and cultural storyteller Preeti Vasudevan's provocative theatrical works redefine individual identity, uniting artists and audiences alike. Her creations have been lauded as a refreshing collision of eastern and western aesthetics pushing for a new expression in art-making. Using just about every mode of the performing arts (including dance, music, poetry, visual art, mime, and theater), Preeti invites cutting-edge collaborators to form a 21st-century language of expression. Her unconventional storytelling challenges the status quo of dance-theater, bridging ancient traditions with the contemporary world.

 

Known for igniting groundbreaking artistic partnerships, Preeti frequently collaborates with celebrated artists such as legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma, Guggenheim awardee Paul Kaiser and with leading ensembles like Silkroad. Preeti’s works have been commissioned by distinguished institutions including The Metropolitan Museum of Art NY, Glimmerglass Opera Festival NY, Guggenheim’s Works & Process NY, New Victory Theater NY, Morph Dance Company UK, and The Alliance Francaise, among others. She has been invited to sit on panels at the National Endowment for the Arts US, US Consulate panel on women creatives, Joyce Theater, and Asian American Arts Alliance.

 

Preeti’s vibrant international career has brought her to the world’s stages as a performer, curator, and thought leader. From her early start as an award-winning classical artist from India to receive a cultural scholarship as International Choreographer in Residence at the American Dance Festival, she has emerged as an artist to watch by leading global institutions where she has been in residence. Her works have been supported by prominent organizations like TED; Centre National de la Danse, Paris; Lincoln Center, NY; Guggenheim Works & Process, NY; The Joyce Foundation, NY; and Mahindra Excellence in Theater Awards, India. In recent years, original works performed by her performing arts collaborative, Thresh, have earned international acclaim for their fresh juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary voices.

 

Cultural Diplomacy is also key to Preeti’s work through education. As an artist alumna of the US Department of State, she leads pioneering educational initiatives encouraging self-expression and artistic risk amongst youth in underserved regions of the world through cross-cultural creative exchange between artists and the community. Preeti’s innovative digital educational initiatives have pushed for a rethink in incorporating technology and arts in education. A guest teacher at NYC's Department of Education and many universities, Preeti has been a strong advocate and example of cultural awareness and multicultural integration.

 

Currently serving on the New York Lincoln Center’s Artistic Committee, Preeti is also the first Indian artist to be awarded prestigious recognitions in the US: the Lincoln Center Award for Emerging Artists, the Jerome Robbins Dance Division’s Dance Research Fellowship, and a two-year Artist-in-Residence at the celebrated choreographer Bill T Jones’s New York Live Arts, NY. In parallel, Preeti’s unique east-west exploration of classical dance won her two awards from The Center for Ballet and the Arts, NYU, NY for the Resident Fellowship, and the coveted Virginia Toulmin Fellowship for women creators. Her current investigation in opera has been supported by recognitions from The Joyce Foundation, Dance Lab NY, and Guggenheim’s Works & Process.

 

Preeti created her contemporary performing arts collaborative, Thresh, as an experimental platform inviting multidisciplinary collaborators to express a common voice on issues that impact our global society. Since its inception in 2005, Thresh has quickly garnered attention for challenging traditional approaches to creativity and fostering collaboration across a wide range of age groups.

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Preeti is a proud alumna of the prestigious Laban Centre in London, where she received her Master of Arts degree in Dance Studies and Choreography, before earning an additional qualification as a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban Institute of Movement Studies, New York. When she is not traveling for her tours across the globe, she enjoys creating in her longtime home in NYC.