About Me
Dance
Dance
Dance was, and always will be, my first love. At age 14, I started attending classical ballet classes at the Ballet Royal de Wallonie. Later, I left to study at the Rotterdam Dans Academie (Netherlands) to explore the different contemporary dance styles (Graham, Cunningham, Limon…). I also love teaching, so I started teaching in 1984; first Modern Jazz, stretching, barre-a-terre, as well as contemporary dance. At the end of the eighties, I created two dance companies: Compagnie Himé, an amateur company consisting mainly of my students and a professional outfit called, Compagnie Himégoto.
At the end of the nineties, I discovered Bharatanatyam and I was sold. After years of exploring the ingenuity of contemporary dance, Bharatanatyam fascinated me through its history, its evolution over time, the technique involved, its beauty but, mainly, its general structure. I started studying with Jetty Roels and later went on to work with Monica Kunz, who eventually became my teacher; Monica later introduced me to her own guru, Nirupama Rajendra in Bangalore (India). I’ve been teaching Bharatanatyam since 2001.
Stretching
Stretching
Stretching is a fundamental part of any dance style, so it seemed kind of inevitable that I would also latch on to this. I was introduced through the traditional channels, like the barre-a-terre and classical ballet but, after I discovered yoga in the early eighties and studied multiple contemporary techniques, such as Martha Graham, yoga and contemporary dance were true revelations for me. They gave me a better sense of body awareness than ballet ever did.
So, in 1984, I also started teaching stretching.
Myself stretched in all directions by many techniques that I all find equally fascinating, I’ve always mixed-and-matched. I dig into any and all of them, when required/needed/wanted, so that I can offer my students a wide array of possibilities and angles to view the subject matter from. I never wanted to be pigeon-holed and decided to call my own technique, Tandava Stretching. In Hindu, the term tāṇḍava is associated with Lord Shiva, as Nataraja, the divine dancer.
Fashion
Fashion
I graduated from the Institut Bischoffsheim, in fashion design and pattern making, after which I immediately started work as a stylist for a Belgian company, before swiftly moving on to do my own thing. In 1987, I was lucky enough to participate in the Brussels-Moscow-Peking Train and thus, organised a number of runway shows with my own designs, in Moscow and in, what is now, Beijing. When I got back, I launched my first fashion collections, the first bearing my own name, and the second under the brand name Carnivor. I worked a lot with denim but also with various waterproof fabrics: I opened a shop in 1990, in the centre of Brussels, because I wanted my own retail outlet.
Simultaneously, and over a period of 3 years, I was responsible for the fashion department for a television show called Clip-Clap, which allowed me to meet many Belgian and foreign designers. My runway shows always incorporated elements referring to my multiple passions, those being: dance, live music and performance.
Media
Media
Despite having been a press attache for a number of dance companies as well as a collaborative endeavour in a television programme, it was the many Techno parties I frequented that would eventually lead my professional life down yet another unexplored path. During the early nineties, I fell head over heels in love with House Music and, as everything was still pretty much underground, I started Out Soon, the first Belgian magazine dedicated to the scene, in November 1992. It was a pretty simple concept: it must be free, it must be bilingual and it must consolidate as much relevant information as possible for the electronic music family. It was an instant hit and, for the ten following years, I would be the editorial and executive director of Out Soon magazine.
Out Soon also organised well over 1000 parties (in Belgium, in France, in Germany), ran a DJ booking agency and initiated a multitude of international partnerships…
After that, I worked for a few ad agencies and, in 2004, I moved back to the paper medium with a monthly magazine, called Mochi. It was a logical follow-up to OutSoon, but this time, aimed at another demographic: the 25 - 40 year olds.
In 2013, I veered off down another fork in the road and launched an online magazine dedicated to photography: Hipstography.
Hipstography
Hipstography
In 2012 I bought my first iPhone and quickly discovered Hipstamatic, a phenomenally innovative photography app.
It was love at first sight: I loved the look of it, the rebellious spirit, the whimsy and the incredible results, of course. In December 2012, I launched Hipstography, a bilingual (French/English), dedicated solely to this app. First and foremost, the aim of Hipstography is to explore and showcase the endless possibilities this little app has to offer, and also to be a platform for the users and fans.
Every year, I organise the Hipstography Awards with a jury of internationally renowned photographers and these encounters have led to the creation of a number of unique and downloadable combos (a lens, a film and a flash), which are available for free on the website.
In 2016, and for a duration of three months, I organised an exhibition at the Sofitel in Brussels which, to this date remains the largest photo exhibition dedicated solely to Hipstamatic.
Be
Vegan
Be Vegan
I’ve been vegetarian since the late nineties, I’ve always been an animal rights supporter but it was only 15 years later, when I discovered the horrors of the dairy industry, that I turned vegan overnight. I co-manage the Brussels’ faction of Anonymous for the Voiceless, an Australian organisation that has branched out to over 1000 cities worldwide. The reach-out activities consist of letting people watch images of the abominable conditions animals have to endure and try to persuade them of the importance of the plant-based diet.
When I discovered that it was possible to make better vegan cheese than the real thing, I found another fork in the road and started an adventure called: Thank God it’s Vegan.
My first creation was Peter, a vegan cheese comparable to a Camembert but made without any kind of animal suffering… and mighty tasty to boot!
Once
Upon A Time
Once Upon A Time
It was in 2021, in the midst of a pandemic, that I decided to launch... a travel agency! Entitled Once Upon A Time, I wanted to offer something innovative in the field of travel and above all to create unique, personalized and innovative experiences. Among other things, I organize trips that mix yoga and high mountain hikes, but also skiing and yoga. As I often say: 'with Once Upon A Time, you will never see travel the same way...'.
Dance
Dance
Dance was, and always will be, my first love. At age 14, I started attending classical ballet classes at the Ballet Royal de Wallonie. Later, I left to study at the Rotterdam Dans Academie (Netherlands) to explore the different contemporary dance styles (Graham, Cunningham, Limon…). I also love teaching, so I started teaching in 1984; first Modern Jazz, stretching, barre-a-terre, as well as contemporary dance. At the end of the eighties, I created two dance companies: Compagnie Himé, an amateur company consisting mainly of my students and a professional outfit called, Compagnie Himégoto.
At the end of the nineties, I discovered Bharatanatyam and I was sold. After years of exploring the ingenuity of contemporary dance, Bharatanatyam fascinated me through its history, its evolution over time, the technique involved, its beauty but, mainly, its general structure. I started studying with Jetty Roels and later went on to work with Monica Kunz, who eventually became my teacher; Monica later introduced me to her own guru, Nirupama Rajendra in Bangalore (India). I’ve been teaching Bharatanatyam since 2001.
Stretching
Stretching
Stretching is a fundamental part of any dance style, so it seemed kind of inevitable that I would also latch on to this. I was introduced through the traditional channels, like the barre-a-terre and classical ballet but, after I discovered yoga in the early eighties and studied multiple contemporary techniques, such as Martha Graham, yoga and contemporary dance were true revelations for me. They gave me a better sense of body awareness than ballet ever did.
So, in 1984, I also started teaching stretching.
Myself stretched in all directions by many techniques that I all find equally fascinating, I’ve always mixed-and-matched. I dig into any and all of them, when required/needed/wanted, so that I can offer my students a wide array of possibilities and angles to view the subject matter from. I never wanted to be pigeon-holed and decided to call my own technique, Tandava Stretching. In Hindu, the term tāṇḍava is associated with Lord Shiva, as Nataraja, the divine dancer.
Fashion
Fashion
I graduated from the Institut Bischoffsheim, in fashion design and pattern making, after which I immediately started work as a stylist for a Belgian company, before swiftly moving on to do my own thing. In 1987, I was lucky enough to participate in the Brussels-Moscow-Peking Train and thus, organised a number of runway shows with my own designs, in Moscow and in, what is now, Beijing. When I got back, I launched my first fashion collections, the first bearing my own name, and the second under the brand name Carnivor. I worked a lot with denim but also with various waterproof fabrics: I opened a shop in 1990, in the centre of Brussels, because I wanted my own retail outlet.
Simultaneously, and over a period of 3 years, I was responsible for the fashion department for a television show called Clip-Clap, which allowed me to meet many Belgian and foreign designers. My runway shows always incorporated elements referring to my multiple passions, those being: dance, live music and performance.
Media
Media
Despite having been a press attache for a number of dance companies as well as a collaborative endeavour in a television programme, it was the many Techno parties I frequented that would eventually lead my professional life down yet another unexplored path. During the early nineties, I fell head over heels in love with House Music and, as everything was still pretty much underground, I started Out Soon, the first Belgian magazine dedicated to the scene, in November 1992. It was a pretty simple concept: it must be free, it must be bilingual and it must consolidate as much relevant information as possible for the electronic music family. It was an instant hit and, for the ten following years, I would be the editorial and executive director of Out Soon magazine.
Out Soon also organised well over 1000 parties (in Belgium, in France, in Germany), ran a DJ booking agency and initiated a multitude of international partnerships…
After that, I worked for a few ad agencies and, in 2004, I moved back to the paper medium with a monthly magazine, called Mochi. It was a logical follow-up to OutSoon, but this time, aimed at another demographic: the 25 - 40 year olds.
In 2013, I veered off down another fork in the road and launched an online magazine dedicated to photography: Hipstography.
Hipstography
Hipstography
In 2012 I bought my first iPhone and quickly discovered Hipstamatic, a phenomenally innovative photography app.
It was love at first sight: I loved the look of it, the rebellious spirit, the whimsy and the incredible results, of course. In December 2012, I launched Hipstography, a bilingual (French/English), dedicated solely to this app. First and foremost, the aim of Hipstography is to explore and showcase the endless possibilities this little app has to offer, and also to be a platform for the users and fans.
Every year, I organise the Hipstography Awards with a jury of internationally renowned photographers and these encounters have led to the creation of a number of unique and downloadable combos (a lens, a film and a flash), which are available for free on the website.
In 2016, and for a duration of three months, I organised an exhibition at the Sofitel in Brussels which, to this date remains the largest photo exhibition dedicated solely to Hipstamatic.
Be
Vegan
Be Vegan
I’ve been vegetarian since the late nineties, I’ve always been an animal rights supporter but it was only 15 years later, when I discovered the horrors of the dairy industry, that I turned vegan overnight. I co-manage the Brussels’ faction of Anonymous for the Voiceless, an Australian organisation that has branched out to over 1000 cities worldwide. The reach-out activities consist of letting people watch images of the abominable conditions animals have to endure and try to persuade them of the importance of the plant-based diet.
When I discovered that it was possible to make better vegan cheese than the real thing, I found another fork in the road and started an adventure called: Thank God it’s Vegan.
My first creation was Peter, a vegan cheese comparable to a Camembert but made without any kind of animal suffering… and mighty tasty to boot!
Once
Upon A Time
Once Upon A Time
It was in 2021, in the midst of a pandemic, that I decided to launch... a travel agency! Entitled Once Upon A Time, I wanted to offer something innovative in the field of travel and above all to create unique, personalized and innovative experiences. Among other things, I organize trips that mix yoga and high mountain hikes, but also skiing and yoga. As I often say: 'with Once Upon A Time, you will never see travel the same way...'.
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