1. Tzveta Kassabova
66 Otterside Court phone: (607) 342 0982
Middlebury, VT 05753 e-mail: tzvetata@gmail.com
Education
2005-2009 University of Maryland Department of Dance – Master’s of Fine Arts College Park, MD
1999-2003 University of Maryland Department of Meteorology – Master’s of Science College Park, MD
1995-1999 New Bulgarian University Dance Theater Program – attended courses Sofia, Bulgaria
1993-1998 Sofia University Department of Physics – Master’s of Science Sofia, Bulgaria
Professional Summary (please see belowfor details)
Teaching
Middlebury College, VT – Assistant Professor, tenure-track appointment (2014 – current)
University of Florida, FL – full time Visiting Assistant Professor (2012- 2014)
George Washington University, DC (2011 - 2012)
Montgomery College, MD (2011)
University of Maryland Baltimore County, MD – full time Visiting Artist (2010)
University of Maryland College Park, MD (2006-2009)
New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria - one week intensive workshops (2006, 2008, 2010)
Choreography
Full length stage works presented at- Dance Place, DC; Kennedy Center, DC; Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center
(CSPAC), MD; American Dance Institute, MD; New Bulgarian University, Sofia,Bulgaria;Test!0,Croatia,
Full length site-specific performance- installation works presented at - Dance Place, DC; CSPAC, MD; Reston Town
Center,VA, Elaine Hansen studio, Jersey City, NJ, Hippodrome Theater, Gainesville,FL; Parkinglots,Detroit,MI
Commissions - Reston Community Center, Joy of Motion, The Collective, JMU, Middlebury College (Performing Art
Series)
Short Works presented at - Judson Church, NYC; Construction Company, NYC; Dixon Place, NYC; Mulberry Street
Theater, NYC; Dance Place, DC; CSPAC, MD; Source Theater, DC; The Fidget, Philadelphia,PA; Joe’s Movement
Emporium, MD, McGuire Pavilion, FL, Forbes Center for Performing Arts, VA, USF, Tampa, FL, Harn Museum, FL, Open
Look Festival, SaintPetersburg, Russsia,Bennington College, VT, Middlebury College, VT
Choreography for Theater presented at - Russe Theater, Russe,Bulgaria
Performance
Company member of David Dorfman Dance (2004-2006), Pearson Widrig Dance Theater (2005-current),
EdHead Production(2001-2006), Maida Withers Dance Construction Company(2011 – 2013), Shua Group(2003 – current)
Freelance projects by Nancy Bannon, Eleanor Bauer, Joshua Bisset, John Evans, Maurice Fraga, John Jasperse,
Mark Haim, Elsa Limbach, David Parker, Joe Poulson, Colleen Thomas, Doug Varone
Costume and Stage Design
Costume Design for - Pearson Widrig Dance Theater (3 works), Sharon Mansur (1 work), Betty Skeen (1 work),
Tzveta Kassabova ( 12 works)
Stage Design for - Tzveta Kassabova (11 works)
Awards/Honors/Scholarships
International Travel Grant(Middlebury College) VT, 2015
Creative Catalystgrantfor interdisciplinary teachingproject FL, 2013
Dance Magazine25 to watch for 2012
Metro DC DanceAward for OutstandingNew Work for ‘The Oppositeof Killing’ DC, 2012
Metro DC DanceAward for OutstandingOverall Production –Small for ‘The Oppositeof Killing’/’Geminus Space’ DC, 2012
Metro DC DanceAward for Excellencein Stage Design for ‘The Oppositeof Killing’/’Geminus Space’ DC, 2012
Metro DC DanceAward for Excellencein Costume Design for ‘Cimmerian Light’ DC, 2012
Artist in Residency at American Dance Institute MD, 2011-2012
Maryland stateCouncil Individual ArtistAward in Choreography MD, 2011
Maryland stateCouncil Individual ArtistAward in Solo Dance Performance MD, 2010
Metro DC DanceAward for Emerging Choreographer for ‘to blue’ DC, 2008
PrinceGeorge’s Arts Council Grant for Individual ArtistFY2008 DC, 2008
Graduate Fellowship University of Maryland MD, 2005-2008
Tuition Scholarship ADF NC, 2003 and 2004
Graduate Research Assistantship University of Maryland MD, 1999-2003
Selected for The Yard as a dancer in BessieSchonberg Residency MA, 2003
Member of DanceWEB – full fellowship in Vienna Tanzwohen’97 Vienna, Austria,1997
Bronze Medal at the European Championship in Rhythmic Gymnastics Lisbon,Portugal, 1991
2. Tzveta Kassabova
66 Otterside Court phone:(607) 342 0982
Middlebury, VT 05753 e-mail: tzvetata@gmail.com
Teaching
Academic Courses
Middlebury College, Dance Program, Department of Theatre and Dance - Assistant Professor, tenure-track appointment
Anatomy and Kinesiology – Spring 2015 and Spring 2016; Advanced Improvisation – Spring 2015; Introduction to Dance
– Fall 2014 and Fall 2015;Advanced BeginningDance – Fall 2014;Dance Company of Middlebury – Fall 2015 and Winter
2016; Dance and Design – Spring 2016
University of Florida, School of Theater and Dance - Full-time Visiting Assistant Professor
Advance Modern Technique - Fall 2013; Intermediate/Advanced Modern Technique - Fall 2012, Fall 2013; Intermediate
Modern Technique – Spring 2013; Basic Modern Technique – Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013; Choreography 3 – Fall
2012, Fall 2013; Choreography 4 – Spring 2013; Freshman Dance Ensemble – Fall 2012; MOD Dance Ensemble – Fall
2013; Directing Spring Dance Showcase 2013; Directing Faculty Concert 2014; Directing Swamp Dance Festival! 2013
George Washington University, Department of Theater and Dance - Adjunct Professor
Intermediate/Advanced Modern Dance Technique - Spring 2012
Intermediate Modern Dance Technique - Spring 2011, Fall 2011, Spring 2012
Montgomery College, Department of Speech, Dance and Theater - Adjunct Professor
Modern Dance I – Fall 2011
University of Maryland Baltimore, Department of Dance - Full-time Visiting Artist
Advanced Dance Technique - Fall 2010
Improvisation – Fall 2010
Repertory – Fall 2010
Dance Workshop – Fall 2010
University of Maryland College Park, Dance Department - Graduate Teaching Assistant
Fundamentals of Modern Dance - Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008
Improvisation – Spring 2008, Fall 2008
Workshops
Flynn Theater, Burlington, VT – weekly modern dance technique classes, January - May 2015
Swamp Dance Festival, Gainesville, Fl – techincue, composition, repertory – July 2013
New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria, Department of Theater, Program Dance Theater
one week intensive workshop - advance technique and creative process - January 2006
one week intensive workshop - technique, improvisation and dance appreciation - January 2008
one week intensive workshop – technique and repertory January 2010
Tisch Summer Dance Intensive, NYC
one week intensive workshop as part of David Dorfman Dance - June 2005
Shore Dance Festival, Manasquon, NJ as part of David Dorfman Dance - July 2005
Master Classes
Flynn Theater, Burlington, VT – 3 hour improvisation workshops part of ‘Looking Deeper’, February and December 2015
Green Street Studio, Boston, MA – as part of Moving Target, October, 2014
Bulgarian National Modern Dance Company Arabesque – June 2013 and June 2014
ACDFA Nationals 2014; Georgia College, Milledgeville, GA (2014); University of South Florida, Tampa, FL (March 2013);
Muhlenberg College, Allentown, PA (March 2011)
Joy of Motion, MD – Summer Intensive (June 2012)
Dance Place, DC - Weekly Advance Modern Classes (September – October, 2011)
Dance Exchange, DC - Weekly Advance Modern Classes (November 2011)
The Collective, Baltimore, MD Advance Modern Classes (Fall 2011, Spring 2012)
Connecticut College as part of Pearson Widrig Dance Theater (April 2011) Improvisation and Advanced Technique
Community outreach program as part of Pearson Widrig Dance Theater Technique classes in five High Schools, MD (Spring 2010)
Community outreach program as part of David Dorfman Dance
Techinque/ Improvisation classes in High Schools and Elementary Schools, CA (March 2006)
3. Tzveta Kassabova
66 Otterside Court phone:(607) 342 0982
Middlebury, VT 05753 e-mail: tzvetata@gmail.com
Choreography (for samples and more information please visit tzvetakassabova.com)
‘Suneaters’ (2015) 20 minutes collaboration with Paul Matteson and Elena Demianenko, Bennington College, Bennington, VT
‘Motorless Park’ (2015) halfeveningsite specific/adaptive collaboration withShua Group, Detroit, MI
‘Judson Garden’ (2015) 15 min groupwork performedat Judson Church, NYC
‘What time is it now?’ (2015) 12 min workperformed at MiddleburyCollege, VT;Alvin AlleyTheater, NYC
‘Steel Meeting’ (2014) full eveningsite-specific collaboration withShua Group, SyepahnGarin andSamSowyrda, JerseyCity, NJ
‘On the set of the Tempest’ (2014) full evening collaborationwithA. Collier andG. Borisoba, HippodromTheater, Gainesville, FL
’10:20’ (2013) 14 min quartet commissionedbyJMU, performedat ForbesCenter for PerformingArts, VA
‘of this world of ice’ (2013) 18 min groupwork, performed at Swamp Dance Festival 2013, McGuire Pavilion, FL
‘SUPER WE’ (2013) 10 min duet incollaborationwith Raja Kelly, performedat KennedyCenter, DC;ACDF Nationals 2014;Spring Dance
Showcase 2014, McGuire Pavillion;ACDF Georgia College 2014, Danspace Project, St. Marks Church, NYC2015
‘In search of a closure’ (2013) 12 min groupwork incollaborationwithindustrial andsystem engineering professor ElifAkcali, performedat
spring Dance Showcase, McGuire pavilion, FL
‘Little is left to tell’ (2012) 18 min trioperformed at Dance Place, DC;Dance FacultyConcert 2013, McGuire Pavilion, FL;
ACDFA gala 2013, Tampa, FL;FacultyConcert, MiddleburyCollege, VT 2015
‘Almost real’ (2012) 10 min group work performedat Joyof MotionDance Center, MD
‘Left of green, Fall’ (2012) full eveninggroup work, developedandperform as part of the Incubator Program at AmericanDance Institute,
MD; SpringShowcase, McGuire Pavilion, FL 2014
‘Be Well’ (2012) 11 min duet performed at 29th Annual Choreographers’ Showcase, CSPAC, MD;Museul Night, Harn Museumof Art,
Gainesville, FL
‘What we see, why we see’ (2012) full evening duet collaborationperformance withthe theater director Naoko Maeshiba, performedat
Dance Place, DC
‘Pavilion Garden’ (2011) 4 hour site-specific groupperformance-installationcommissionedbyRestonCommunityCenter, performedat
Northern Virginia Arts Festival, Reston, VA
‘The Opposite of Killing’ (2010) full evening group work, performedat New BulgarianUniversity, Sofia, Bulgaria;Test !0, Croatia; Dance Place,
DC; KennedyCenter MillenniumStage, DC;Universityof MarylandBaltimore County, MD; ACDFA 2011, Muhlenberg College,
PA; The Collective Showcase 2012, Baltimore, MD
‘Mixed UsedSpace’ (2010) full evening performance installation collaborationwith Lillian ChoandArachne Aerial Arts performed at Dance
Place, DC
‘Memoria Brassica’ (2010) 30 minute trio collaborationwithKristina Bilonick and Karin Abromaitis commissioned bySource Theater,
performed at Source Theatre, DC
‘The longest Day of the year’ (2009) full eveningsoloperformance, performedat Dance Place, DC
‘Letter (to Ed)’ (2009) 11 min solo performedat 27th Annual Choreographers’ Showcase, MD;Dance Place, DC; ATROMATIC, DC;Bates Dance
Festival, ME; JudsonChurch, NYC; Queens College, NYC;OpenMarleyNight, Baltimore, MD;Gemini Show, Philadelphia, PA;
InHale, Philadelpiha, PA;Joyof Motion, DC;USF, Tampa, FL; Open LookFestival, Russia;UM, Anne Arbor, MI;Middlebury
College, VT
‘Where the colors blend into the sounds’ (2009) full evening group performance-installation work performedat CSPAC, MD
‘Locus’ (2008) full evening site specific performance-installation createdand performedincollaboration with Brooke Belott, Lillian Cho and
Katie Iacono(supportedbythe Prince George’s Arts Council, FY09 for Individual Artist),performedat CSPAC,MD
‘Still new’ (2008) 7min trioperformed at CSPAC, MD
‘Sumiko’ (2008) 12min work incorporatingshadow puppets performedat CSPAC, MD
‘The stairs in my house’ (2007) 10 minute solo performed at CSPAC, MD;Dance Place, DC;McGuire Pavillion, FL
‘to blue’ (2007) 11min duet awarded MetroDCDance Awardfor best emerging choreography performedat CSPAC, MD and25th Anniversary
Choreographers’ Showcase, MD
‘Unfolding’ (2007) full evening group work collaborationwith the composer Martin Gendelmanperformedat CSPAC, MD
‘Bathroom #1900’ (2006) full evening site specific work createdandperformed in collaboration withGinger Wags andLaura Quattrocchi
performed at CSPAC, MD
‘DC’ (2006) 7min solo performedat CSPAC, MD;Dance Place, DC
‘Alissa’ (2006) 15min group work performed at CSPAC, MD
‘Grid’ (2006) 12 min work performedat CSPAC, MD
‘Bigodini’ (2005) 11 min site specific solo – installation, collaborationwith costume designer Laura Quattrocchi performed at Construction
Company, NYC
‘Carousel’ (2005) 13min duet collaboration withvisual artist Milosz Koziej performedat DixonPlace, NYC
‘Happy 29th of January’ (2004) 9min solo performedat 92nd Street Y, DC; MulberrySt Theater, NYC;ADF, Durham, NC;Dance Place, DC
‘When’ (2004) 11min dance filmNewYork, NYC
‘Before the curtain rises’ (2003) 7min dance film Durham, NC
‘Paula. Be careful Tzveta’ (2003) 5min dance filmDurham, NC
‘New Y’ (2003) 15min dance film New York, NYC
‘Nectary’ (2003) 8min duet collaboration withZoltan Nagy performedat The Yard, Chilmark, MA
‘Flowers on the Wall’ (2000) 8min duet performedat Joe’s Movement Emporium, MD
‘Indian Summer’ (2000) 6 min soloperformedat Joe’s Movement Emporium, MD
‘With the Color of Ice Cream’ (1999) dance theater production performedat Russe Theater, Russe, Bulgaria
4. Tzveta Kassabova
66 Otterside Court phone: (607) 342 0982
Middlebury, VT 05753 e-mail: tzvetata@gmail.com
Performances
Choreographer Nancy Bannon
‘Shiny party choppy’ performed at BAX (2005, NYC)
Choreographer Eleanor Bauer
‘Stranger than Strangers’ performed at Joe’s Pub (2003, NYC)
Choreographer JoshuaBisset
‘Soft Wall’ performed at Conga Lofts (2008, Jersey City, NJ)
‘Crowded action’ performed at Taiwanese Culture Center(2006, NYC)
‘1000 Nows’ performed at St Mark’s Church (2004, NYC), Live Arts Festival (2004, Philadelphia, PA)
‘Mulysa’ performed at Construction Company (2004, NYC)
Choreographer David Dorfman
‘Sea level’ performed at APAP (2005, NYC)
‘Light bulbtheory’ performed at the Joyce Theater (2005, NYC), Shore DanceFestival (2005, NJ), Concord Summer Academy (2005,CN),
Wesleyan College (2005, CN), UCSC (2006, CA)
‘Older testaments’ performedattheJoyceTheater(2005,NYC), ShoreDance Festival (2005, NJ), Concord Summer Academy (2005,CN),
Wesleyan College (2005, CN), UCSC (2006, CA)
Choreographer John Evans
‘I awoke gasping’ performed at ACDFA(2000, JMU, VA), Maryland Dance Ensemble (1999, MD)
Choreographer Maurice Fraga
‘Slippage’ performed at Judson Church (2004, NYC), Lit’05 (2005, NYC)
Choreographer John Jasperse
‘Prone’ performed at ADF (2004, NC)
Choreographer Mark Haim
‘Elusive’ performed at Maryland Dance Ensemble (2001, MD), CSPAC (2000, MD)
Choreographer Zoltan Nagy
‘Nectary’ performed at The Yard (2003, Chilmark, MA)
‘Page 29’ dance movie (2003, UMD)
‘Physicists’ performed at Danspace Project –Draftwork (2003, St Mark's Church, NYC)
‘Before Wedding’ performed at Maryland Dance Ensemble (2003, CSPAC, MD)
‘South Gate’ performed at Graduation Concert (2002, CSPAC, MD)
‘Swanscrew’ performed at Diana Wortham Theatre (2002, Ashville, NC)
‘Waiting red seven’ performed at ACDFA(2002, CSPAC, MD)
‘Brooktzvetok’ dance movie (2002, CSPAC, MD)
Choreographer David Parker
‘Tender Traps’ performed at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2002, DC), CSPAC (2002, MD)
Choreographer SaraPearson and Patrik Widrig
‘Be Still My Heart’ performed at CSPAC (2012, MD), Kennedy Center (2013, DC)
‘Drama’ performed at CSPAC (2011, MD), Dance Place (2011, DC)
‘Oashisu’ performed at Tenri Cultural Institure (2010, NYC), Connecticut College (2011, CT), Dance Place (2011, DC), CSPAC (2011, MD)
‘Paradise Pond’ performed at Bates Dance Festival (2007, ME)
‘Unmoored-Love Letters from New Orleans’ performed at Kennedy Center (2006, DC), Dance Place (2008, DC), MDE(2009, CSPAC, MD)
‘Thaw’ performed at the Duke (2005, NYC), Skidmore College (2005, NY), Myrtle Beach (2005, SC), DanceNow at DTW (2005, NYC)
‘Ordinary Festivals’ performed at City Center (2004, NYC); Open Look Festival, Russia
Choreographer Joe Poulson
‘The new girl’ performed at Maryland Dance Ensemble (2007, CSPAC, MD)
Choreographer Meriam Rosen
‘Departures’ performed at Choreographer's Showcase (2002, MD), CSPAC (2001, MD)
Choreographer TatianaSokolova
‘Electric shock’ performed at Satiric Theater (1999, Sofia, Bulgaria)
‘Primitive’ performed at Balkan Festival (1998, Sofia, Bulgaria)
‘Gallantries ofTime’ performed at Sofia Theater (1996, Sofia, Bulgaria)
Choreographer Ed Tyler
‘Ataraxia’ performed at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2006 DC)
‘Sanctuary’ –10 hours human installation’ performed at building Museum (2006, DC)
‘Sanctuary’ performed at TivoliTheater(2005,DC), Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2004, DC), Judson Church (2005, NYC), ADI (2005, MD)
‘Blind Spot’ performed at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2004, DC)
‘Cipher’ performed at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2003, DC)
‘Thaw’ performedatWhiteWave d.u.m.b.o. festival (2004, NY), Dance Space(2004, NYC), DowntownFestivalofModernDance (2002,
DC), Joy ofMotion Dance Project (2001, MD), Dance Place (2001, DC), CSPAC (2001,2006 MD)
‘EX P O S E’ performed at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2001, 2006 DC)
‘Welcome to the dollhouse’ performed at Choreographer's Showcase (2001, MD), CSPAC (2000, MD)
‘What Remains?’ performed at Kennedy Center Millennium Stage(2000, DC), Choreographer's Showcase (2000, MD), Maryland Dance
Ensemble (1999, MD)
Choreographer Colleen Thomas
‘Devided we fall’ performed at Maryland Dance Ensemble (2008, CSPAC, MD)
Choreographer Doug Varone
‘Democracy’ performed at Doug Varone and Dancers Summer Workshop (2000, Purchase, NY)
Choreographer Pascale Wettstein
‘Passion according to G.H.’ performed at Judson Church (2004, NYC), Dixon Place (2004, NYC)
Choreographer MaidaWithers
‘Naked Truth.’ performed at Dance Place (2010, DC)
Choreographer NettaYerushalmy
‘Crater in us’ performed at 92th Street Y(2005, NYC), Joyce Soho (2004, NYC), Jacob’s Pillow
(2004, MA), Brooklyn Museum, 2004, NYC), Judson Church (2003, NYC), The Yard (2003, Marta Vineyard, MA)
5. Tzveta Kassabova
66 Otterside Court phone:(607) 342 0982
Middlebury, VT 05753 e-mail: tzvetata@gmail.com
Press
'“Little is left to tell,” a new work by a University of Florida dance professor Tzveta Kassabova. SamuelBeckett, a 20th century Irish
writer, provided the inspiration for “Little is left to tell.” That line closes his short play “The OhioImpromptu,” but the dance piece also
brilliantly evoked Beckett’s “Krapp’s Last Tape,” “Happy Days” and the writer’s generalabsurdist, Sisyphean ethos.... groundbreaking
dancing. '
Rebecca Ritzel, The Washington Post
'Last Thursday,that care was most evident in the dancing itself, humble yet hyper-aware.Each piece contained echoes of the others —
have we seen that pathway, that lunge, that embrace before? — in a way that seemed more intentional than incidental.'
SIOBHAN BURKE, The New York Times
'With her haloof curls streaming behind her,she heaves and flings her body: an angeltrying to loose the demon inside. Her spastic
volatility, riveting in its purity,finally exhausts itself as, in a smudge of hazy light, Kassabova pulses into an expansive split....
Less human beings and more magical creatures dropped in from a world infinitely gentler and wilder than ours, the two (Kassab ova and
Kelly) treat space like paper: With limbs functioning as scissors, they slice and dice air into origami, occasionally collapsing into each
other’s arms or flopping onto the floor, their energies exhausted,but only for that moment.'
ErinBomboy, Dance Enthusiast
'It was, for me, a somewhat cryptic performance,but the women seemed tied to their tools and each other in a way that felt
affirmative — as if they were preparing to turn the lot into an abundant garden and initiating their work with an elaborate rite or
prayer.Their faces, especially Kassabova’s, betrayed total immersion, and they seemed so enraptured by their movements that I found
myself unable toleave, hooked and hovering, waiting to see what they would do next.'
JillianSteinhauer, Hyperallergic
'Tzveta Kassabova moves as if her limbs are only loosely joined to her body.It’s as though every impetus to fling an arm, hurlher chest
forward, or kick out a leg then reverse her torso, sending that leg into a high arabesque,is simply part of the way she moves. Her quirky,
somewhat darkTim Burton-esque movement quality is all her own. It’s no surprise that Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig used her
improvisations as inspiration for Drama, which premiered last month.'
EmilyMacel Theys, Dance Magazine
'The linchpin of this work was Tzveta Kassabova,a tall, long-limbed dancer with a steely gaze and wild tangle of curly brown hair.
Program notes indicate that her improvisations helped build a foundation for the choreography, and it shows. In her performance,every
step looked intuitive, assured and pure.She’s appealing to watch because nothing she does is safe, and yet she is always in control.'
Sarah Halzack, The Washington Post
'"Bigodini,"made wonderfully imaginative use of the theater's odd layout.'
Jennifer Dunning, The New York Times
'There are a fewforward-thinking choreographers like Tzveta Kassabova .... who meticulously craft high-quality performances.'
Amanda Abrams, Washington City Paper
'The choreography and movement .... was astounding.'
LisaTibbetts, DC Theater Scene
'The highlight of the program was Kassabova's solo "Happy 29 of January."... Kassabova is an intriguing performer who brought me
instantly into her world and I didn't want to leave.'
Kelly Hayes, Offoffoff.com
'By evening’s end,the stripped down space has been transformed in a performative tattoo of body-centered visualart, giving new
meaning to the mid-20th century school of action painting/ Choand Kassabova walk, drop, roll, all the while constantly marking up the
stage floor and backwall.'
LisaTraiger, D.C. Dance Watcher
'Walton said of Kassabova's choreography of her ensemble piece, "it's a large group that moves non-stop. The patterns are amazing."'
Meg Tipper, CatonsvillePatch
'Tzveta Kassabova did a beautiful,live dance portrait fullof subtle, expressive movement.'
Douglas Galbi, ode Street Tribune
