American CircusFest
· Jury Members
American CircusFest 2025 Jury Members
REGINA BOUGLIONE (FRANCE)
Regina is fifth generation of France’s premier circus dynasty, the Bouglione family, owners of Paris’ legendary Cirque d’Hiver – the world’s oldest and most beautiful circus building, opened in 1852. An attractive, versatile, and exceptionally talented artist, Regina has presented (and still does) a wide variety of acts during her rich career, both in her family’s circuses and in circuses and variety theaters in Europe. In the USA, she was featured in Feld Entertainment’s production of “Barnum’s Kaleidoscape.” Deeply involved in the creation of the Cirque d’Hiver’s productions, she is the brilliant creator of their magnificent costumes.
CHARLIE BURROWS
Based in Las Vegas, Nevada, Charlie Burrows is Cirque du Soleil’s Senior Casting Advisor for Resident Shows. A former competitive power tumbler who participated in more than 20 World Championship and was European Team Champion in 2006, he joined Cirque du Soleil as a performer after a finishing his Business Management degree! He appeared as an acrobat on power track and trampoline in “La Nouba” at Walt Disney World Resort, before becoming Casting Advisor and Talent Scout for some of the Cirque du Soleil’s most famous productions over the world.
MAXIM NIKULIN
The son of the legendary Yury Nikulin, Russia’s most admired and beloved clown and movie comedian, Maxim Nikulin is General Director of Moscow’s Circus Nikulin on Tsvetnoy Boulevard, the Russian capital’s oldest resident circus (re-named after his father). After a successful career as a journalist on newspapers and Russian television. In the late 1990s, he established the television studio “Tvetsnoy 13” which produced a series of programs on Russian and international circuses for the Russian channel Kultura. He was appointed Director of Circus Nikulin in 1997. As such, he spent a lot of time developing circus arts in Russia and organizing very successful tours in Japan, founded Russia’s International Youth Circus Festival and, since 2023, the prestigious international circus festival “Artist” at Circus Nikulin. He is President of “Circus and Mercy,” a charitable fund that provides support for old artists and disabled people.
SARAH DAVISON (USA)
A dance graduate from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon in France, Sarah came to the United States to join the original cast of Céline Dion's "A New Day," produced in Las Vegas by Franco Dragone. She then felt in love with circus arts, and, still in Las Vegas, joined Dragone's "Le Rêve," and later Cirque du Soleil's ''Viva ELVIS." In 2012, Sarah started her casting career with Cirque du Soleil, first as Artistic Advisor, then as Head of Casting for their Las Vegas resident shows. In 2021, she became Creative Manager for "The Bourne Stuntacular" in Orlando. She joined Feld Entertainment two years later as Director of Casting and Performance – a position which, since the beginning of 2024, has included Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey.
DIANE ARATA (USA)
Circus Vargas - Creative Director
A seventh-generation circus performer, Diane Arata is the daughter of legendary Italian tight-wire artist Vittorio Arata and Ingrid Osmani-Kaiser, a famed juggler from the Netherlands. Raised in Amsterdam, she studied violin and the arts, before joining her family in the United States. For two decades, she traveled with various circuses throughout the U.S. and Canada, including Circus Vargas, performing with elephants and presenting her liberty horses. Then, Diane resumed her studies, earning a degree in Graphic Arts & Design from Florida’s Keiser University and subsequently completing the Harvard Business School’s Management Essentials Program. Diane now handles the image-branding and day-to-day operations for Circus Vargas.
SANDOR DONNERT (UNITED KINGDOM)
As head of Donnert Entertainment, Sandor Donnert is an international circus producer, talent agent, and director. A former juggler on horseback, he is scion, from his father's side, of one of Hungary's oldest and most celebrated circus dynasties, the Donnerts, and of the British Roberts dynasty on his mother's side. His many productions include "Sandor Donnert's Magical World of Circus," "Helmond Sinterklaas Circus," and the "Kerstcircus Den Haag" (Christmas Circus of The Hague) in The Netherlands. He is also Director of the Elite Showgirls dance company.
ADANS PERES (Spain)
Adans was one half of The Peres Brothers, a celebrated Spanish hand-to-hand balancing act that had won a Gold Medal at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain in Paris, and a Silver Clown at the International Circus Festival of Monte Carlo – two of the world’s foremost circus festivals. Later, he and his brother Ivan created a new show concept, “La Bouche-Ohlala”, which showcased their versatility. Adans gained further fame in Spain when he appeared on the television reality show “Big Brother VIP”. He is the founder and president of Starlight Production & Showbusiness, which produces shows and special events.
AGUSTIN MALUENDA QUEZADA (Chile)
Agustín Maluenda Quezada, better known as "Tachuela Chico," is a well-known Chilean clown and circus director, who has been working for nearly six decades in circus and television in Chile and all-over South America. He runs today his own circus, Circo de Pastelito y Tachuela Chico, in which he still performs, and he often appears on television. The only Chilean clown to have won a “Copihue de Oro” for his career (the most important award given annually in Chile for arts and entertainment), he has served on the Jury of several international circus festivals in Argentina, Spain, Italia, and the United States.
American CircusFest 2025 Jury Members
