Team
Preeti Vasudevan: Artistic Director
Over the course of 20 years, Preeti has built upon her lifetime of expertise in dance, choreography and education through Thresh, her award-winning and internationally-touring NYC performing arts collaborative. Thresh’s experimental productions and educational projects foster provocative dialogue with contemporary identity and our relationship with heritage cultures. To further extend this mission, Preeti created RCP during the COVID pandemic to inspire those same questions for a younger age group. Her most recent accolades include: 2021 residency commission, Works & Process at The Guggenheim, NY; 2020 Artistic Committee, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; 2019 Dance Lab New York/Joyce Theater Foundation Creation Grant; 2019 Virginia B. Toulmin Fellowship for Women Leaders in Dance; 2018 Lincoln Center Award
for Emerging Artists; DanceMotion USA Follow-On Program with the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM); 2018 Jerome Robbins Dance Division’s Dance Research Fellowship, NY; 2018-19 LabWorks Residency, New Victory Theater, NY. Preeti has been a key speaker for many events including the main presenter at TedX Barnard (Columbia University, NY 2013).
Cultural Diplomacy is key to Preeti’s work in arts education. As an artist alumna of the US Department of State, she leads ground-breaking educational initiatives encouraging self-expression and artistic risk through cross-cultural creative exchange among artists and the community. She is also one of the main artists leading educational initiatives in underserved areas of the world through Silkroad, legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s ensemble.
Preeti holds an MA in Dance Studies from Laban Centre London, and she is a Certified Movement Analyst from the Laban Institute of Movement Studies, NY.
Preeti’s years of teaching children alongside her more “grown-up” work take inspiration from her own young daughter, seeing the world and its future through her eyes. For Preeti, RCP stories are a source of eternal curiosity and wonder that children remind you to never lose as you grow older.
Mia Kovalyak: Manager of Design and Marketing Communications
Mia Kovalyak is a designer and strategist that focuses on digital product design. After living in NYC for 4 years, she is now based in Pittsburgh, PA. Over the last 3.5 years, she’s built a strong career in digital design and strategy that largely focused on web and mobile-based designs. She recently received her Master of Design from Art Center College of Design where she studied Brand Design and Strategy.
Mia enjoys creating impactful design solutions and combining her passions for creativity with logical thinking practices.
Olivia Mendelson: Arts Administration Assistant
Olivia is an Arts Administration Assistant based in New York City. She graduated from Fordham University with a degree in Urban Studies and Visual Arts. Given the interdisciplinary nature of her undergraduate work, Olivia is passionate about improving the quality of life for children and adults in urban communities through accessibility to the arts and art education. Her focus on nonprofit work has been developed through her numerous roles in nonprofit management, administration, gallery work, and fundraising event coordination.