Simone was born in Italy but came to the U.S. with her familyat age 2. She started ballet classes at 4 at a small Arizona studio, and at 6 moved to California, where she expanded her horizons, taking jazz, tap, lyrical and hip-hop classes at Murrieta Dance Project.

It wasn’t long before she was ready to compete. “I was just 7, and it was a little scary,” she says of her first competition. “But having all my friends with me made it fun.” She was hooked, and has been dominating the competition scene ever since. “I like having that time onstage to show the audience what I’ve been working so hard on,” she says.

Now at Mather Dance Company in Placentia, CA, the 17-year-old supplements her training with ballet classes at Southland Ballet Academy.