What is my greatest fear?

Never finding a balance between my perfectionistic/workaholic side and my personal life.

What is the trait that I most deplore in myself?

Negativity. I am not the happiest person in the world and I can sometimes get carried away to much by negative feelings even though objectively speaking I have everything I could ever want and have an amazing life. I would love to become more joyful. On the other hand I am more creative when unhappy or frustrated…

What is my greatest extravagance?

As a hobby musician I spend a disproportionate amount of money and time playing music. I just had a music studio built in my garden for example…

On what occasion would I lie?

I believe lying is most of the time an act of avoiding your responsibility and going for the easy way out. If telling the truth would only hurt people without a chance of growing from it afterwards I would say a lie is appropriate.

What is the influence of role models, in my work and in my life?

Their influence has become smaller over the years, I have embarked more and more on my own path; but without my role models I would have never started this journey.

What is the thing that I dislike the most in my work?

That everything is your own responsibility. The positive side of this is the independence and freedom; my favorite part of the job. The flipside of this same aspect is that if you don’t do it, nobody will; there is nobody motivating or pushing you. Sometimes it is hard to keep finding this internal motivation.

When and where was I the happiest, in my work?

Working as a soloist in a dance company in Linz(Austria). Very high profile jobs on stage in a beautiful country with great colleagues.

If I could, what would I change about myself?

When working or on stage I can be very extraverted and I like doing so, but in my personal life I am actually very introverted. Finding large crowds and noisy places very tiring is not the best for your social and family life. It would be nice to be able to go to a shopping mall without coming home completely exhausted.

What is my greatest achievement in work?

Technically my greatest achievement would be dancing as Mercutio in “Romeo and Julliet” and working with Philip Glass (dancing the soloist role of “A” in his newly created opera “Spuren der Verirrten”) in the most modern theater in Europe. But I must say that I sometimes get more satisfaction from less high profile jobs where I have a larger responsibility. When I really made something from scratch myself, even performing it for a 100 people can give me a greater feeling than being another cog in the machine in a huge production.

What is my most inspirational location, in my city?

I do most of my creating in a venue called “Den Beulebak” in Antwerp, which is run by my father. It’s a 16th century building on a small secluded square in the middle of Antwerp.

What is my favourite place to eat and drink, in my city?

My own place with my best friends, where you can talk about whatever you want without ever being embarrassed and where at any point during the night you can pick up an instrument and start playing.

Who is my greatest fan, sponsor, partner in crime?

My brother, Koenraad, is my greatest fan. He has always supported and believed in me even in times when it didn’t seem like there was anything to believe in. Without my brother I would have never been where I am now.

Whom would I like to work with in the future?

I don’t have any people in specific that I really need to work for. As a dancer I have worked with more amazing directors, designers, singers,… than I could have ever imagined possible when I started. As a choreographer I have not yet risen to the level of working with these amazing people. My dream would be to also work with these amazing professionals as a choreographer.

What project, in the nearby future, am I looking forward to work on?

I am working on a very commercial TV show for the first time in my career and I will be showing my own choreography. I am very much looking forward to finding out how this will work out.

How can you contact me?

You can contact me through my facebook page: Vilja Productions, my website http://www.vilja.be or via e-mail viljaproductions@gmail.com