About

Big Kid Circus was founded in 2005 by Biliana and Kiril Kirilov, wife and husband. Kiril is second generation of circus family, whereas Biliana is the first in her family to join the circus. Biliana was 13 when she left to ‘run away’ with the circus, she has travelled to Cuba, USSR, Italy and Greece performing various circus skills and acrobatics.

Kiril on the other hand attend school and graduated top of his class, while his parents were touring with the circus across the world. Fate brought Kiril and Bili together, they mutually decided the circus was the best path to lead to a happy and fulfilling life together.

In 1999 they came to the UK as trapeze artistes where they worked for various circuses. However, in 2005 they decided it was time to start building their own legacy within the circus art industry. Bili is extremely passionate about producing and creating divers, inclusive and unique circus shows to cater for the whole family. Kiril plays a huge part in building the business aspect of the circus and ensuring its growth within the industry. Together they have successfully produced 16 annual tours in the UK.

In 2014 Big Kid Entertainment expanded Big Kid Circus into South East Asia and opened up Great British Circus, and currently they are the only circus to have an annual tour in Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia. Great British Circus is a UK company which promotes traditional British circus culture through the shows we produce. The aim is to share British Art with South East Asian audiences.

The next generation of the Kirilov family are David, Julia and Nicole who are the children of Biliana and Kiril. They have taken on the tradition and responsibility to continue the family legacy.

David is an integral part of the logistics of the entire set up, he manages the team of employees to guarantee a smooth transition of the circus tour each week. He travels frequently between Asia and the UK to provide training and support to our teams in both regions.

Julia is a graduate from Leeds Beckett University with a BA in Events Management. She also went on to complete her Master’s in Public Relations and Communications. Julia aims to grow the company and push for a contemporary extension to the circus art form and the social importance of the circus within today’s society. Julia plans to open her own show in 2022 which will promote body positivity and inclusivity, integrated with circus as a platform of art.

Nicole is the youngest of the three, she is enjoying school and she enjoys performing. When she grows up she would like to be a dancer, actress all wrapped around circus.

Big Kid Circus would not be possible without the hard work and support it has from its employees. Being on tour 9 months of the year, we become family. Our performers and staff around the show work tirelessly to provide the highest quality circus performance available. We pride ourselves in being a divers and inclusive company, employing people from Cuba, Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Morocco, Chile, Bulgaria, and many more. We believe a divers team leads to creative and unique thinking, which helps grow the company to become more inclusive and accepting within the community. We have new ideas because we enjoy giving employees the opportunity to contribute to a new art product through the integration of their culture.

With the pandemic in 2020 all circus art was halted, and the company faced difficult times with all our performers in the UK and Asia unable to go home and no income. The company ensured the safety for every single staff member and provided financial support from their own savings and help from local people in Morecambe where the circus was located.

The circus was also supported by Arts Council England, through the Cultural Recovery Grant round 2. We are grateful for the support the Government has provided for the art industry during these difficult times.