Brooklyn High School of the Arts (BHSA)
Thresh has partnered with Brooklyn High School of the Arts' Select Choir over the past three years, hosting hands-on and virtual workshops. Aimed at exploring themes of identity, individuality, and cultural responsiveness, Thresh’s educational and outreach program with BHSA is an ongoing collaboration with more exciting workshops on the horizon.
Preeti with Brooklyn High School of the Arts Select Choir before the "TaReKiTa" Premiere (2022)
“As artists, it is important to appreciate the culture versus appropriating it because by understanding the cultural background of culturally based songs and the true meaning, you are able to relate to those within that culture and connect with them on a personal level."
—Brooklyn High School of the Arts Select Choir Student
In partnership with Brooklyn High School of the Arts, a dual-mission public high school dedicated to providing aspiring artists and scholars with an academically rigorous pre-college course of study and a comprehensive, four-year pre-conservatory arts program.
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Storytelling through the Arts Workshop
February – May 2023
Thresh Founder & Artistic Director Preeti Vasudevan is working with collaborating artist Max Pollak to teach students in the Brooklyn High School of the Arts Select and Concert Choirs about the importance of sharing cultures through music. The students are learning identity, rhythm, movement, and intellectual skills by studying the structures of Haitian music through Alelouya and fusing it with Afro-Cuban rhythms through body percussion.
Brooklyn High School of the Arts successfully had their annual spring choir concert on May 24, 2023.
The concert featured the culmination of a semester-long workshop series featuring Thresh founder and artistic director Preeti Vasudevan and teaching artist Max Pollak. The workshop series worked with the BHSA choirs and taught the importance of sharing cultures through music.
The project was supported by the Department of Education.
The Share Of Authenticity in Music & the Arts Workshop
January – May 2022
Thresh led students in Brooklyn High School of the Arts' Select Choir through a hands-on experience learning cultural responsiveness through vocal and dance performance. Over the course of ten workshop sessions, they explored the dialogue between Indian and Western performing arts through Dr. Gholdy Muhammad’s “Historically Responsive Literacy Framework” and the “CASEL” wheel.
Thresh Founder & Artistic Director Preeti Vasudevan taught students a newly commissioned dance piece to enhance their learning and performance of “TaReKiTa.” Students learned to perform global music in an authentic manner, while also bringing forth their own identity and storytelling experiences. This piece premiered at the BHSA Spring 2022 Music Festival on May 25.
"TaReKiTa" Premiere at the Brooklyn High School of the Arts Spring Concert, 2022
“As artists and people, we show appreciation for culture by learning the history of certain things, with permission, with taking part in learning cultural activity, asking questions, and listening to individuals or an individual of that culture."
—Brooklyn High School of the Arts Select Choir Student