My Story

Childhood

I was a very creative and imaginative child. I loved to draw and could doodle for hours. I also spent a lot of time watching movies involving singing or dancing.

My passion therefore for music, rhythm and dance began at an early age. I practiced ballet for 10 years, and also played the piano for 13 years. Looking back on that, it’s amazing to see how sound, music and dance played such a pivotal role in my childhood. They were my haven – the sacred and safe spaces to express myself.

Being an only child, I spent a lot of time on my own and therefore was extremely good at entertaining myself. In a positive light, I developed a huge amount of self-sufficiency, independence and courage. On the other side of that, I isolated myself and would get lost in my own imaginative worlds.

I had one best friend who I pretty much did everything with. This friend had a very interesting story in that she hardly spoke to anyone. She had an anxiety disorder called elective mutism whereby she would feel comfortable to speak in certain settings, but not in others. For some reason she chose to speak to me. 

This theme around “fear of expression” has been a big theme that repeatedly has shown up throughout my life. My father was very reserved and quiet and I too had large tendencies to keep silent when I really should have spoken up.

Reflecting on this theme in my life, I see how I utilized music and dance to support myself to express what was inside of me without words.

Difficulty with expression

I struggled with authentic connection, openness and vulnerability. I was for the most part reserved and shy; constantly holding back what I really wanted to say. When something bothered me, I would hardly speak about it or ask a question – I would be too afraid to say the wrong thing. Over and above that, I stuttered severely. I didn’t know anything about self-worth then, but looking back, I can see how I didn’t feel good enough.

Being a stutterer ensued into many things. I didn’t take part in any plays, and standing up in front of my class was my biggest nightmare. 

I was also not very good at expressing real feelings or emotions. I was quite anxious and subsequently suffered from a lot of anxiety as well as eczema.

As puberty emerged, I experienced a huge amount of shame around my body. I wanted to hide even more. I was insecure and uncomfortable in my own skin. I tried so hard to “fit in” but also was running away at the same time.

When I left school my stuttering improved. Over the years it has improved and improved to the point where some of my colleagues and friends cannot believe that I was ever a stutterer. The biggest contributor to that has been working on believing in myself and knowing my worth. The more I stepped into my worthiness and learned to value myself, the less the stuttering would occur.

Leaving School

After school I studied advertising, graphic and website design. I went on to work for several companies and started my own business in 2008 which I still run to this day. This has always allowed me to keep a balance between the corporate and spiritual worlds which I am very grateful for.

Discover of Dance

In 2005, I went to live in London, where an entirely new world of dance opened up for me. I discovered a beautiful Brazilian partner dance called Zouk Lambada. My teacher was looking for a dance partner, and I jumped at the opportunity. This eventually led me to become a teacher myself.

A few years later, I brought this dance back to Cape Town and began sharing it with others through classes and workshops. This period rekindled my love for movement in a profound way.

Around the same time, towards the end of my stay in London, I joined a women’s goddess dance circle — a space where we danced to heal and balance our chakras. I participated in this circle for six months, and it became one of the most formative experiences of my life. It planted the seed that would later inspire me to create Journey Through Dance. After my second class in that circle, I knew I needed to bring this type of healing movement back home.

When I returned to Cape Town, I began offering Chakra Dancing Classes, which eventually evolved into Journey Through Dance. After many years of sharing these classes, a training naturally emerged. I started teaching others how to hold this space — a process that unfolded organically after years of creating and refining the work.

Then, in 2017, new inspiration arrived during a trip to Asia. On a small island called Puerto Princesa in the Philippines, I encountered Innerdance for the first time. It was unlike anything I had experienced, yet it felt deeply familiar. Through a series of extraordinary synchronicities, I found myself connecting with others who were also drawn to this modality. Together, we helped bring Innerdance to the people of Cape Town — a collaboration that felt guided, aligned, and meant to be.

Evolution

Over the years, there have been many evolutions to my work and how it’s being expressed in the world.

I’ve had the honour of co-facilitating space for a group from an addiction recovery clinic — guiding them through ongoing Innerdance sessions over several months as part of their healing and reconnection process.

In 2025, I launched 2 singles and now I am learning guitar.