I turned 40 in January 🌞
And ever since, I feel like celebrating life again and again.
Patrick and I had the dreamiest belated 40th birthday celebration at the farm, surrounded by our dear friends. 🌿
Lately I’ve been reflecting on the journey that brought me here.
Living in South Africa with my little family, standing on land that feels both grounding and expansive.
Life really is nothing short of a miracle and a mystery.
In these 40 years I’ve lived in Germany, South Korea, Italy, the UK, Spain and now South Africa.
Each place marking a chapter, each chapter shaping who I’ve become.
There have been many transformations along the way.
Different lives, different loves, different versions of myself.
And then motherhood.
The most profound initiation of them all.
One thing becomes very clear when you move through so many seasons of life:
It is the people who walk beside you that you remember the most.
The ones who love you, challenge you, support you, and sometimes even break you open so you can grow.
Time and experience also bring a different understanding of life’s challenges.
I see more clearly now that the darkest moments often carry the seeds of the greatest transformation.
To everyone who has been part of my journey.
Thank you for shaping me, loving me, challenging me and helping me become the woman I am today.
Turning 40 feels incredibly liberating and exciting. Less like an ending and more like standing at a beautiful threshold.
And I have every intention of celebrating life all year long.
Next stop: Europe, with family and friends.
Life is such a gift.
And I’ve decided to celebrate being alive 🌿
Thank you @michellemariemei for taking so many stunning pictures for us to remember this dreamy day together with you all 💛
I arrived in London as an ambitious, classically trained dancer.
Hungry for auditions, castings, stages. Ready to prove myself.
Teaching ballet began almost quietly alongside that life.
At first it simply kept me grounded while navigating the ups and downs of the city.
Only years later did I realise how much it was holding me.
Financially, mentally and emotionally.
Teaching gave me stability when the performing world often felt uncertain.
It connected me back to my own body in a deeper way.
Working with young dancers, watching their confidence grow, supporting those little souls as they discovered movement… it shaped me just as much as the stage ever did.
What began as something practical slowly became a path of its own.
A practice of honoring the relationship between mind and body.
Over time my work expanded.
Pilates entered my life and offered another language for the body.
When the pandemic reshaped everything, my work moved online and new ways of teaching opened up.
Since then my path has continued to evolve through private sessions, group classes, retreats, workshops and festivals.
Later, intuitive movement brought dance back into my work. Less performance. More expression and connection.
Different spaces. Different countries.
But always the same intention.
Helping people reconnect with their bodies in a way that feels intelligent, supportive and real.
And the work continues to evolve.
Pictures of slides 1, 4, 9 captured by my talented friend @mary_riazanova Thank you Bella x
Pictures of slides 7, 8 captured by the gifted photographic artist @justine.robineau merci chérie x
Life feels good lately.
Autumn has settled into the Elgin Valley,
painting everything in the most beautiful colours.
We’ve been moving through slow, simple days.
Family adventures. Time outside.
I’ve started horseback riding lessons,
humbling, grounding, and quietly opening a new world for me.
There’s been a lot of life moving through the farm.
Renovations taking shape.
The final apple harvest of the season.
Training our horse and pony.
Starting Modeling again with the farm as a lifestyle location.
Hosting friends, sharing meals, laughter,
and ending the days in the warmth of our little cottage.
I’m learning to slow down with it all.
To trust the timing.
In love with being present with my angel boy.
Creating a magical childhood for him.
Life feels good.
Cape Town has unexpectedly become one of my favourite places.
A city that keeps opening my heart in quiet ways.
It’s now the fifth year I’ve been returning to South Africa
and to this city that holds something truly special.
Over the past few months I’ve found myself coming back here, with my boys or for a solo weekend to recharge and reset.
Drawn by the light, the ocean, the food, the energy.
Time with friends.
Long meals.
Moments that feel simple but full.
Space to be with myself, without the noise.
Over the years, this place has played a pivotal role in my own transformation.
A place where I come to breathe, to play, to eat well,
and to soak up its vibrancy.
A different rhythm from the farm.
One I dip into every now and then to feel inspired again.
🌊
I move differently now.
Motherhood changed the rhythm of my days
and the relationship I have with my body.
Time is more limited.
So my practice has become more intentional.
Less about pushing harder.
More about listening.
Some days it’s 10 minutes.
Some days I simply shake it off or move freely.
Some days I only move while teaching my clients — and that’s enough.
And rarely, I get a full hour to myself to move…
and when I do, it feels like such a gift.
The past two years have asked a lot of my body.
Pregnancy. Postpartum.
Breastfeeding for two years.
Breaking my arm twice.
And early stages of osteoporosis.
There were months of feeling disconnected, in pain, or simply overwhelmed.
This chapter has been about recovery.
Refilling my cup.
Resting more.
Listening to what my body actually needs.
Slowly rebuilding strength and trust.
Movement looks different now.
And it will keep evolving.
Life lately in South Africa
A shifted rhythm with
More space.
More listening.
More regulation.
And I won’t lie, it hasn’t always been easy to allow so much spaciousness and calm,
especially after years of living at a faster pace, mostly in cities.
But motherhood has softened me.
Between land and life
there’s a new rhythm now.
And somehow,
they hold everything.
I spent years in studios and on stages.
Discipline. Repetition. Precision.
I was trained to perform.
Now I’m learning to inhabit,
to move more intuitively.
Letting my body speak in its own language.
Grateful to collaborate with such talented film & photography artists.
First dance: @jack_shanks
Second dance: @sashawestphotography
Hi, I’m Simone.
Right now, life has brought me to South Africa
to a quiet apple and pear farm in the Western Cape, with my love and my little boy.
A new season of life.
Welcome to my world.
