Stories by Hand
"Witty...mythically tragic...deeply absorbing" The New York Times
Stories by Hand is a solo work by award-winning choreographer and performer, Preeti Vasudevan, searching for an individual identity through stories which are personal, mythical, and social and are narrated through the continuous placement and displacement of gestures affected by memory. Stories by Hand takes the hand gestures of Bharatanatyam (classical Indian dance) as the basis for a storytelling dance-theater interweaving east and west, past and present, the mythic and the everyday.
Creative Team
Co-Creator, Choreographer, and Performer: Preeti Vasudevan:
Co-Creator and Literary Dramaturg: Paul Kaiser
Production Design: Robert Wierzel
Music & Sound Design: Paul Jacob
{"items":["e96e7334-688a-4017-9212-85b12ee71081","d96c2681-36b5-4289-babe-f8495e2d1f3a","069a5df8-f0c0-4354-a72e-4ca955c85242","1dd082ad-dcba-4026-9272-dd91e1aaba68","2fe47782-b5fa-4e06-b948-f86438d35c4c","11f1ed8b-60af-4ef0-b2e1-7dc3a628e6fd"],"styles":{"galleryType":"Strips","groupSize":1,"showArrows":true,"cubeImages":true,"cubeType":"fit","cubeRatio":1.3333333333333333,"isVertical":false,"collageAmount":0.8,"collageDensity":1,"groupTypes":"1","oneRow":true,"imageMargin":5,"galleryMargin":0,"floatingImages":0,"chooseBestGroup":true,"smartCrop":false,"hasThumbnails":false,"enableScroll":true,"isGrid":false,"isSlider":true,"isColumns":false,"isSlideshow":false,"cropOnlyFill":true,"fixedColumns":0,"enableInfiniteScroll":true,"isRTL":false,"minItemSize":120,"rotatingGroupTypes":"","rotatingCubeRatio":"","gallerySliderImageRatio":1.3333333333333333,"numberOfImagesPerRow":3,"numberOfImagesPerCol":1,"groupsPerStrip":0,"borderRadius":0,"boxShadow":0,"gridStyle":1,"mobilePanorama":false,"placeGroupsLtr":false,"viewMode":"preview","thumbnailSpacings":5,"galleryThumbnailsAlignment":"bottom","isMasonry":false,"isAutoSlideshow":false,"slideshowLoop":false,"autoSlideshowInterval":4,"useCustomButton":false,"bottomInfoHeight":0,"titlePlacement":"SHOW_ON_HOVER","galleryHorizontalAlign":"center","galleryTextAlign":"center","galleryVerticalAlign":"center","scrollSnap":true,"itemClick":"nothing","fullscreen":true,"allowSocial":false,"allowDownload":false,"allowTitle":false,"allowDescription":false,"loveButton":false,"loveCounter":false,"videoPlay":"auto","scrollAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","scrollDirection":0,"overlayAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","arrowsPosition":0,"arrowsSize":23,"watermarkOpacity":40,"watermarkSize":40,"useWatermark":true,"watermarkDock":{"top":"auto","left":"auto","right":0,"bottom":0,"transform":"translate3d(0,0,0)"},"loadMoreAmount":"all","defaultShowInfoExpand":1,"allowTitleExpand":true,"allowDescriptionExpand":true,"allowLinkExpand":true,"expandInfoPosition":0,"allowFullscreenExpand":true,"fullscreenLoop":false,"galleryAlignExpand":"left","addToCartBorderWidth":1,"addToCartButtonText":"","slideshowInfoSize":200,"playButtonForAutoSlideShow":false,"allowSlideshowCounter":false,"hoveringBehaviour":"APPEARS","thumbnailSize":120,"magicLayoutSeed":1,"imageHoverAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","calculateTextBoxHeightMode":"AUTOMATIC","textBoxHeight":0,"textImageSpace":10,"textBoxBorderRadius":0,"textBoxBorderWidth":0,"textsVerticalPadding":0,"textsHorizontalPadding":0,"titleDescriptionSpace":6,"customButtonText":"","customButtonBorderWidth":1,"customButtonBorderRadius":0,"loadMoreButtonText":"Load More","loadMoreButtonBorderWidth":1,"loadMoreButtonBorderRadius":0,"imageInfoType":"NO_BACKGROUND","itemBorderWidth":0,"itemBorderRadius":0,"itemEnableShadow":false,"itemShadowBlur":20,"itemShadowDirection":135,"itemShadowSize":10,"imageLoadingMode":"BLUR","expandAnimation":"NO_EFFECT","imageQuality":90,"usmToggle":false,"usm_a":0,"usm_r":0,"usm_t":0,"videoSound":false,"videoSpeed":1,"videoLoop":true,"gotStyleParams":true,"selectedLayout":"4|bottom|1|fit|false|0|true","showVideoPlayButton":true,"galleryImageRatio":2,"sharpParams":{"quality":90,"usm":{}},"imageLoadingWithColorMode":"PICKED_COLOR","imageRatioType":"FIXED","numberOfDisplayedItems":3,"itemBorderColor":{"themeName":"color_15","value":"rgba(0,0,0,1)"},"itemShadowOpacityAndColor":{"themeName":"color_15","value":"rgba(0,0,0,0.2)"},"textBoxBorderColor":{"themeName":"color_15","value":"rgba(0,0,0,1)"},"textBoxFillColor":{"themeName":"color_12","value":"rgba(202,202,202,1)"},"alwaysShowHover":false,"isStoreGallery":false,"previewHover":false,"galleryLayout":4,"itemOpacity":{"themeName":"color_14","value":"rgba(70,70,70,0.6)"},"itemFont":{"style":{"bold":false,"italic":false,"underline":false},"family":"open sans","preset":"Heading-M","editorKey":"font_5","size":25,"fontStyleParam":true,"displayName":"Basic Heading","value":"font:normal normal normal 25px/1.2em \"open sans\",sans-serif;"},"itemFontSlideshow":{"family":"avenir-lt-w01_85-heavy1475544","displayName":"Basic Heading","style":{"bold":false,"italic":false,"underline":false},"size":22,"preset":"Custom","editorKey":"font_5","fontStyleParam":true,"value":"font:normal normal normal 22px/27px avenir-lt-w01_85-heavy1475544,sans-serif;"},"itemDescriptionFontSlideshow":{"family":"avenir-lt-w01_35-light1475496","displayName":"Paragraph 2","style":{"bold":false,"italic":false,"underline":false},"size":15,"preset":"Custom","editorKey":"font_8","fontStyleParam":true,"value":"font:normal normal normal 15px/18px avenir-lt-w01_35-light1475496,sans-serif;"},"itemDescriptionFont":{"family":"avenir-lt-w01_35-light1475496","displayName":"Paragraph 2","style":{"bold":false,"italic":false,"underline":false},"size":15,"preset":"Custom","editorKey":"font_8","fontStyleParam":true,"value":"font:normal normal normal 15px/18px avenir-lt-w01_35-light1475496,sans-serif;"},"itemFontColor":{"themeName":"color_11","value":"rgba(255,255,255,1)"},"itemFontColorSlideshow":{"themeName":"color_15","value":"rgba(0,0,0,1)"},"itemDescriptionFontColor":{"themeName":"color_11","value":"rgba(255,255,255,1)"},"itemDescriptionFontColorSlideshow":{"themeName":"color_15","value":"rgba(0,0,0,1)"},"loadMoreButtonFont":{"family":"times new roman","displayName":"Paragraph 2","style":{"bold":false,"italic":false,"underline":false},"size":15,"preset":"Body-M","editorKey":"font_8","fontStyleParam":true,"value":"font:normal normal normal 15px/1.3em \"times new roman\",times,serif;"},"loadMoreButtonFontColor":{"themeName":"color_15","value":"rgba(0,0,0,1)"},"loadMoreButtonColor":{"themeName":"color_11","value":"rgba(255,255,255,1)"},"loadMoreButtonBorderColor":{"themeName":"color_15","value":"rgba(0,0,0,1)"},"arrowsColor":{"themeName":"color_11","value":"rgba(255,255,255,1)"},"oneColorAnimationColor":{"themeName":"color_11","value":"rgba(255,255,255,1)"},"isAccessible":false,"allowLeanGallery":false,"layoutsVersion":2,"selectedLayoutV2":4,"isSlideshowFont":false,"externalInfoHeight":0},"container":{"top":"","bottom":"","left":"","right":"","width":1167,"height":381,"position":"","avoidGallerySelfMeasure":true,"galleryWidth":1177,"galleryHeight":386,"scrollBase":0}}
Photo credit: Maria Baranova
Other media
World premiere: November 2 2017, New York Live Arts, New York City, USA.
Stories by Hand was commissioned as part of the 2015-17 Live Feed Residency at New York Live Arts.