Stefan Spasov graduated from the Academy of Film and Theatre Art in Sofia, Bulgaria in 2000; specialty - Acting for Theatre with the teaching professors Snejina Tankovksa and the famous Bulgarian actor Andrei Batashov.

As a student participated in the performances "Duck Variations" by David Mamet and "Fire of Love" - a show of seven one-act plays by contemporary American playwrights, inspired by Shakespeare's plays.

Stefan Spasov is among the most successful youth actors in Bulgaria. His charm and talent were fast recognized by the directors of the most prestigious theaters in the country as: New Drama theatre "Tears and Laughter",
Theatre "Bulgarian Army", Aleko Konstantinov Satirical Theatre, Theatre “199” and more.

Some of his roles as a professional theatre actor are:
Nick in the “Woods” by David Mamet; Peter in “Outside of a Locked Door” by R. Stoyanov;
Mr. Braddock in the “Graduate” by T. Johnson; Nick in “Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf” by E. Olbee; Ben Harcourt in “The Mercy Seat” by N. LaBute; Paul Bratter in “Barefoot” in the Park by N. Simon.
Stefan Spasov had played parts in the Italian TV movie productions “Soraya”, and “Dalida”; the Bulgarian movie “Christmas is Possible” and the New Image movie “Death Train”.

Mr. Spasov musical and acting talent attracted the director Andrei Batashov for his Bulgarian music spectacle "Rhythm”. Stefan plays drums in it, mixing Bulgarian folklore rhythms and modern interpretations.
He is currently working as an independent actor and as a co-host of the popular Bulgarian educational TV show-game “Minuta e Mnogo” (A minute is a lot), under a multi-year contract. Hi is a co-host for more than eight years. The TV show goal in 2011 was to pay special attention to ethnic groups living in Bulgaria as promoting their traditions, culture, holidays and customs.

Miřenka Čechová is an actor, performer, choreographer and director from the Czech Republic. She is one of the leading proponents of physical theatre in Europe and the co-creator of a special genre called physical mime. She is co-founder of the Spitfire Company (physical theatre) and Tantehorse company (physical mime and butoh). Her work with these companies has been presented in a total of eleven European countries. Additionally, her solo work has been presented in four European nations as well as the United States and Japan.
Miřenka Čechová is also a founding member of The International Festival Zero Point, which brings the best of physical, mime, visual and multi-genres theatre forms to Prague from throughout Europe.
Dr. Čechová is on the faculty of the Academy of Performing Arts (AMU) in Prague. She earned her Ph.D in Physical Theatre Direction and Mime from the same institution and has also done significant work in Japanese butoh and, most recently, hip-hop. In 2011, Dr. Čechová received a Fulbright Scholarship for lecturing and research at American University in Washington, DC.
Miřenka Čechová has received much important and deserved recognition for her work. She was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her role of the Fool in King Lear performed with the Synetic Theatre Company in Washington, DC and is the recipient of the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Ensemble in the same play. In June of 2012, Ms. Čechová received the Prague Fringe Festival’s award for Outstanding Performance for her solo work The Voice of Anne Frank. She received the same distinction in Amsterdam at the Amsterdam Fringe Festival. Following a very successful US premiere of her work “S/He is Nancy Joe”, she received the “Best of 2012 in Contemporary Dance” award from the Washington Post.
Upcoming performances include tours to the United States, South Africa and Edinburgh, Scotland.
www.mirenkacechova.com

Jindřiška Křivánková is an actress, dancer, choreographer and author with strong interest in the development of contemporary theater performances. She finished her studies at Dance Conservatory Duncan Center in Prague and the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, with M.A. degree and Theater school Die Etage in Berlin. Since 2002 she started her professional career as a theater actress with a director Miroslav Bambušek during the project Multiprostor later called Persecution.cz that continuously develops political theater. The first performances of this long term project was awarded by Alfred Radok award. In 2008 she became one of the founding member of Spitfire Company with whom she performs and creates regularly until now. Her credits includes: The Voice of Anne Frank, Dark Laughter of Medusa, The World of Condemned (Grand prix in Festival Zdarzenia, PL, The price of Teatro Roma), the Chaplin’s Trial, Trials 10/48/7830 about the murder of the female political prisoner Milada Horakova by the communist government (award of festival Next wave), 13th Month-Requiem for Bruno Schulz, Prawns a la Indingo. Her independent projects include political performances: Čezko forever (dir.Petr Boháč), Colonia (dir.Lucie Ferenzová), Horáková/Gotwald (choreography) (dir.Viktorie Čermáková), Políbila Dubčeka (choreography) (dir. Viktorie Čermáková), Uran (dir.Miroslav Bambušek). She is also an author and playwright of her own projects (Lovci), host performer in Drama Theater in Ústí nad Labem, Theater in Balustrade in Prague, Meet Factory in Prague, La Fabrica in Prague and many others site-specific and experimental spaces.
Jindřiška Křivánková was also awarded as the Talent of the Year (2010) at the Next Wave festival. She is also a pedagogue of contemporary dance and physical theater in Private Theater Academy in Prague and lector in Spitfire Laboratory.

Francesca Jandasek, of Czech descent and born in Namibia, Africa, seeks to bring the arts to people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds through performing, teaching and creating.
PERFORMANCE/CHOREOGRAPHY
Francesca has worked with many dance and theater companies in the Washington DC area, including CityDance Ensemble, BosmaDance, Santi Budaya (Indonesian Dance), Sharna Fabiano Tango Company, Tango Mercurio, Dakshina Dance Company (Indian and Modern Dance), Deviated Theater and Synetic Theater. She has performed and taught nationally and internationally (Russia, Canada, India, Bangladesh, Czech Republic and Argentina). Francesca had the opportunity to work with Tanec Praha, which organizes the International Modern Dance Festival in Prague, Czech Republic. In 2006, Francesca received the Artist Fellowship for Dance from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities. She also received a choreographic fellowship from the Kennedy Center as part of the Millennium Stage Local Dance Commissioning Project 2006 and she choreographed and composed music for the full evening length work, “Ellesmere”. In 2007, she was nominated as one of the finalists for "Emerging Choreographer" for the Metro DC Dance Awards.

In 2009, she established baredances, a collaborative contemporary dance project, with Stephanie Yezek. Baredances was originally commissioned by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and was subsequently expanded to include collaboration with other artists, choreographers, musicians, dancers, actors and filmmakers. Through baredances, Francesca choreographed “Invitations”, a full evening length modern and baroque dance piece and “Kindgom of Ends”, multimedia piece mixing contemporary ballet and modern dance improvisation, live found-object music improvisation, and interactive improvised art projection. Baredances’ most recent piece, “Her Flowers” was presented by the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center on January 25th, 2014.

In 2011, Francesca choreographed Romanian folk dances for Zalmoxis (a Romanian Play) at Georgetown University. She recently created 3 short solos, “Pandora’s Door Triptych” commissioned by the Kennedy Center for June 2012 and is currently working on “Gallery Space” film and live dance performance with baredances. In 2012, she worked with Amy Hart, a film producer in New York City and Andy Okaofor, a film director in Paris, France to create a short tango film. Francesca participated in a dance film “Mean Girls Reunion” by Ludovic Jolivet and Ted Bain as part of the 48 hour film festival 2013. Since 2012, she has worked with Synetic Theater, a movement theater company in Northern Virginia. She played Dulcinea in “Don Quixote” (directed by Paata Tsikurishvili), Laika’s Mother in “A Trip to the Moon” (directed by Natsu Onoda Power), Antonia in “The Tempest” by Shakespeare (directed by Paata Tsikurishvili), understudy for Viola in “Twelfth Night” by Shakespeare (directed by Paata Tsikurishvili) and is currently understudy for Gertrude in “Hamlet” by Shakespeare (directed by Paata Tsikurishvili). In June 2013, she choreographed for "'T' Party" at Forum Theatre (directed by Natsu Onoda Power) and in February 2014, was a movement consultant for “Yellow Face” at Theater J (directed by Natsu Onoda Power). She is currently dancing and choreographing for a feature length film “Her Tango” directed by Jason Mullis.

VISUAL ARTS
In 2001, Francesca received a Small Project Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts to create "NO STANDING ANYTIME", an exhibit of paintings that sought to capture the movement, spirit, passion and diversity of dance using various mediums. This exhibit was displayed at various venues in the DC area including Utopia Gallery, Cosi, Lombardi Cancer Center, Sheridan School and Dance Place. Many of the works are now in private collections.

Francesca collaborated with choreographer Connie Fink in 2003 to create artwork for Connie's full evening length dance performance "Short Stories/Then is Now" at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center at University of Maryland.

In 2003/2004, Francesca received a Young Artists Grant from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment for the Arts to create another exhibit "Music to the Eye" in which she collaborated with Washington DC composers and musicians to create paintings which were in turn used as visual 'musical scores' which musicians in turn used for an improvisation performance. This exhibit was also displayed in various venues in the DC area.

In 2005, she created a set for choreographer Ludovic Jolivet for a performance with CityDance at the Terrace Theater at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. In 2006, Francesca created a set for Cirque Voila for a national tour. During the 2007 season with BosmaDance, Francesca danced and painted in performance on the bodies of other dancers in a short work by Israeli guest choreographer, Ofra Idel Lipshitz which premiered at the Millennium Stage, Kennedy Center.

Although Francesca has not had any recent exhibits, she has continued painting and illustrating walls, canvases, faces, bodies, costumes, theater and dance sets, stories and poetry on private and corporate commission. Francesca taught Kindergarten at the Sheridan School from 2003 - 2013, where, inspired by the Reggio Emilia Approach, she encouraged and guided the students in the creation of long-term exploratory artistic projects.

MUSIC
Francesca has studied classical piano through the Certificate Program at Peabody Preparatory from 1985-1996 and classical violin from 1988-1992. At Goucher College, she studied Ethnomusicology, Classical Voice and African Drumming.

She has taught music at Sheridan School (K through 8) as well as gave private instrumental lessons and co-directed school musicals. Francesca was CityDance Ensemble’s Composer in Residence from 2000 – 2004 and won an award for “Excellence in Sound Design / Original Composition” for “Prism” during the 2002 Metro DC Dance Awards. Her original musical compositions have been released on CD as well as performed internationally in small venues and festivals. In 2006, Francesca collaborated with PJ Acayan to compose an original sound-track for the full evening length performance, “Ellesmere” for the Millennium Stage Local Dance Commission Project.

Currently, she plays violin and sings in Tango Mercurio’s Tango Orchestra and plays Eastern European gypsy music with her family and significant other. She is composing music for independent films by filmmaker, Ludovic Jolivet and for her own choreography.

GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®
Francesca Jandasek is a certified GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® instructor and has had the fortune to share her love of movement by teaching many forms of movement including modern dance, ballet, tango, creative movement, yoga, stretch and GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® exercise to people of all ages, backgrounds, needs and abilities.

Francesca was first introduced to the GYROTONIC® system in 2006 and has been discovering the myriad ways in which the movement principles and concepts of GYROTONIC® exercise prove themselves beneficial in many areas of daily life. She has studied with master trainers Justine Bernard, Tracy Monaco and Michelle Silva at Elements Fitness and Wellness Center, Nathan Martin of Capital Gyrotonic, Sebastian Plattenberg of GYROTONIC® Manhattan and Mariarosa Gugliemi, based in NY and Mexico City. Francesca holds advanced certification on GYROTONIC® applications for Osteopathy, GYROTONIC® therapeutic applications for Osteoporosis, and GYROTONER® specialized equipment. Francesca teaches GYROKINESIS® workshops to company members at Synetic Theater in Crystal City, to professional dancers in the Washington DC area and at Dance and Theater Festivals Internationally. She is currently teaching GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® exercise classes, private sessions and workshops at Elements Fitness and Wellness Center in Glover Park, DC, The Pilates Room in McLean, VA. and the Joy of Motion Dance Center, DC.