ABOUT | Thresh

ABOUT FIRST VOICES

OUR STORY

How did First Voices begin?

First Voices is a project from Thresh, an award-winning performing arts and education organization based in New York City. Both Thresh and First Voices were launched by renowned choreographer and performer Preeti Vasudevan.

Thresh was founded in 2005. But it wasn’t until 2017 that the connection with the Indigenous communities of Montana began, when Preeti visited schools in Lame Deer, Montana, at the heart of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. At that time she was engaged as a storyteller-educator for Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad organization.

Northern Cheyenne artist Alaina Buffalo Spirit (Northern Cheyenne artist) and Preeti Vasudevan (Artistic Director, Thresh / First Voices) pictured in Billings, MT

While working with students and Elders of the Lame Deer community, Preeti recognized fascinating parallels with her own South Asian (Indian) heritage, particularly the inter-generational connections that pass on wisdom through stories. This is a need for all cultures globally: through stories, members of the younger generation can connect to their culture and find ways to apply this wisdom to their own lives in a contemporary context, strengthening a true and deep-rooted sense of identity.

The first iteration of the First Voices project was developed by Preeti in partnership with colleagues from the Lame Deer community as a response to the devastating impact of COVID-19 on the reservation. Tragically, many Elders were taken by the virus and the younger generation was experiencing a critical loss—of ancestral connection, of hope and empowerment through the tradition of storytelling between the generations.

The video below explores in more detail how the goals and objectives of First Voices evolved to address this important need.

First Voices works with tribal Elders, Knowledge-keepers and young people to create digital (video-based) performances of Indigenous ancestral stories. Tribal Elders and Knowledge-keepers work in partnership with First Voices on all elements of the project, from selecting and narrating the Indigenous story in the original language, to building partnerships with tribal colleges, high schools and community centers. It is with these institutional partners that the project recruits participants who interpret and create the digital story. The story is created through a series of workshops, conducted by teaching artists (Native and non-Native) over five days, in five artistic disciplines. (See Approach & Impact for more details on the structure of the workshops).

Thresh is a New York-based, female-led performing arts non-profit producing work about storytelling in all its forms. First Voices is a social impact project within Thresh, focused on Indigenous digital storytelling. As stated above, both Thresh and First Voices were conceived—and continue to be led—by award-winning choreographer and performer Preeti Vasudevan. Thresh was founded in 2005 to create ground-breaking art-based projects, with a mission to empower individual voices within the context of a global community.

FOUNDING ADVISORY BOARD

Preeti Vasudevan

Artistic Director (Thresh)

Aaron Rosen

Professor & Author

Alaina Buffalo Spirit

Elder, Ledger Artist, Storyteller

Monica Grable

Montana Arts Council

Donnie Wetzel Jr.

Tribal Relations & Resiliency Director

Adam Jahiel

Photographer

Susan Wolfe

Art Educator, Lame Deer School

Mary Serbe

Arts Education Leader

TEAM & STAKEHOLDERS

First Voices is produced by a diverse team of teaching artists, scholars, education specialists and storytellers from both Native and non-Native backgrounds. Each team-member brings a unique cultural and professional history to the project, ensuring a broad range of viewpoints and perspectives.