Philip Astley and the Horsemen Who Invented the Circus

Born in Paris, France, Dominique Jando made his debut in a circus ring as a clown at the legendary Cirque Medrano in Paris. He later pursued a career in the theater and the circus before coming to the United States, where he served as Associate Artistic Director of New York's Big Apple Circus for twenty years. He is vice-president and artistic director of Lone Star Circus in Dallas, Texas, and the co-founder and curator of Circopedia.org, an online encyclopedia of the international circus. He has published several books on the history of the circus, variety and clowns in both Europe and in the United States and written numerous articles for magazines around the world. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, Elena Panova, and their cats, Minoushka and Polina.