BIO

In 2024, Sonia Grimm has celebrated her 20th career!

She celebrated by completing a PhD and EPD in “Creative Arts & Leadership”, the title of which is "Operational and communication methodology - Adaptive, conscious and responsible leadership - Using emotional intelligence in all aspects of show production."

She is also the author of "Insoumise - Autobiography of a destructive love" Ed. Favre 2018/WuWei Inspiration 2021 and "Par le MOI" Ed. WuWei Inspiration 2021.

Passionate about music and dance, Sonia Grimm played the piano during her childhood and adolescence. First classical piano, then jazz, blues and variety with a method without scores, based on improvisation and listening.

A sportswoman, she also practiced baton twirling assiduously throughout her childhood, participating in championships and teaching this discipline to the youngest.

Then, at the age of 18, she danced in a semi-professional street dance troupe, taking part in shows and tours abroad.

After attending the University of Geneva and completing a half-degree in history, political science and English, she decided to stop everything to have children and devote herself to her family. Her diligent and combative temperament makes her a mother devoted to the well-being of her family and taking her work as a stay-at-home mother to heart.

After the birth of her second child in 2001, Sonia began to write and compose songs for her children and those of her loved ones. It is above all a leisure and a pleasure, which allows this young mother to gently transmit messages of love, tolerance and respect.

Having a natural gift for communicating with children and wanting to pass on values to them, Sonia Grimm could not find the tender and catchy songs that she dreamed of making her toddlers listen to on the market. She then fills this gap by composing melodies which she accompanies with a soft and warm voice and whose committed texts are imbued with a poetry full of freshness.

At the end of 2002, Sonia sent a demo cassette to a recording studio in Geneva, containing around twenty titles "tinkered" at home on her electronic piano, in order to put her voice on her demos, to transmit them to her children. friends.

She thus met her future husband-producer, who immediately noticed her talent and creativity and suggested that she record a “real” album and publish it.

This is how “The Animal Round” was released in 2004.

Immediately, Sonia went on stage to meet the public, with a first scene at the “Salon du Livre” in Geneva in April 2004.

Sonia is accompanied on stage by child actors who sing, dance, act and thus bring the characters in her songs to life. Young audiences and parents were immediately won over and his career developed rapidly.

For 14 years, children accompanied her on all the stages of French-speaking Switzerland, from the small show-case to the Arena in Geneva, via the Stravinski auditorium, the Théâtre du Léman and the Théâtre de Beaulieu.

The tours are organised by the company she set up with her husband, and over the years Sonia has also worked behind the scenes to ensure that the shows get off the ground:

organising tours (venue hire, media contacts, managing announcements and publicity)
putting the shows together (creating scripts and choreographies, ordering sets, ordering and preparing costumes for each child, managing the children's schedules and appointments, allocating roles, teaching choreographies to classes and teachers).

More than 250 children aged 3 to 12 are trained each year in the performance schools it runs in Geneva, Lausanne, Gland, Delémont, Sion, Fribourg and Neuchâtel. They take part in tours throughout French-speaking Switzerland, which means a lot of work, and above all a lot of kisses and "je t'aime"!

Sonia wrote 7 albums in 9 years, and created 18 shows, two a year. In 2014, after 4 years of intensive Swiss German lessons, "La ronde des animaux" was translated to become "D'Tierrundi", followed by a tour of the show in Swiss German (Züritüütsch).

In the process, she learned a number of different trades and worked hard, but with all the passion and love that characterises her, to bring the shows to life.

In December 2013, she co-presented Alain Morisod's programme "les coups de coeur" on RTS, and was voted "favourite personality of French-speaking Switzerland" in 2011 by Cooperation magazine.

In August 2014, after years of psychological abuse, her husband-producer raped and beat her.

Behind the lights and the glitter, a tragedy was unfolding that no one suspected. Like so many other victims, the children's princess was going through an ordeal she couldn't tell anyone about...

He was convicted in December 2015, and Sonia Grimm had a diary published by Editions Favre entitled "Insoumise - Autopsie d'un amour destructeur", which she kept for many months in an attempt to understand how her husband had managed, little by little, to manipulate her in order to gain control over her.

After her attacker was convicted, years of torment followed. He had to close the company they had together, divorce her... In a long process of legal harassment, he multiplied the number of complaints and legal reversals in order to continue his hold over her.

But Sonia stands firm, keeps her faith and continues to forge ahead.

Throughout 2015, Sonia Grimm hosted her own radio show, "La petite émission", with Sylvain Lavey, on Sunday mornings on LFM, which helped her rebuild her life and regain her self-confidence.

She released 3 albums: "Je respire" in spring 2015 and "Un drôle de Noël" in November 2015 and "Je suis ailes" in December 2017, with the video for the eponymous song directed at the Tangerine studio in Montreal by Guy Tourville (Roch Voisine, Annie Broccoli ). She continues to produce 2 concert tours a year.

In 2018, she decided to change the form of her shows and go professional. With a heavy heart, but exhausted and happy to give life to a new artistic project, she closed the children's dance classes and turned to shows with adult dancers and videos on LED screens. She kept only a small group of her best pupils, now teenagers, to train them in 2.0 shows.

Sonia chooses her teams in order to surround herself with the best, on a technical, artistic and logistical level. She surrounds herself with talented musicians and dancers. She has trained in video creation so that she herself can create the media that come to life on the giant LED screen during her shows, in harmony with her choreography.

Always with the same concern for coherence and the search for the marvellous that will transport families into her dreamlike world.

Her commitment to peace

"You can act for peace by first becoming aware of your own destructive behaviour and stopping inflicting it on yourself and others".

Since the release of "Insoumise - Autopsie d'un amour destructeur" (Unsubmissive - Autopsie of a destructive love), there has been a steady stream of thank-yous and testimonials from victims. Sonia is gradually realising that she is not an isolated victim and that violence is everywhere, in every social environment and at every age. And that it is invisible and hidden... Victims don't dare to speak out, they can't. To speak out would put them in danger and they would be in danger. To speak out would put them in danger and, often manipulated, the victims don't even realise that what they are experiencing is unacceptable... Through the testimonies of many parents who ask her to take action to help their child who is a victim of bullying at school, Sonia understands that bullying at school is a form of psychological violence similar to that which she experienced in her relationship, and that she can also take action by working to prevent it among young people.

In 2018 and 2019, Sonia thought about the best way to help victims. She researched, read many books, met specialists and many victims... and how to take time for introspection.

In early 2019, Sonia Grimm was voted "Personality of the Year 2018" by readers of the newspaper La Côte, and set up the association Parle-moi, which aims to support victims of psychological violence and harassment by giving them the tools they need to rebuild their lives.

In May 2019, she met Mr Steve Alban TINEO (Expert in crisis management, complex negotiations and special situations, founder of the "KYF - Know Yourself First" methodology - used by many sports champions and celebrities), who accompanied her on her journey towards reconstruction, resilience and rebuilding her self-esteem.

This inner work gives her the impression of being reborn in a different way!

By gaining access to self-awareness and awakening, she was able to put an end to years of suffering and self-destruction.

Sonia became a KYF expert and took a number of training courses at the same time:

- Applied Neuroscience Practitioner

- NIJI energy practitioner

- USUI Reiki

- Methodology of the "Idiot Game" against harassment by Dr. Philippe Aïm

Together they set about writing "Par le MOI" (Through the SELF) in order to pass on this approach to anyone wishing to transform their suffering into new energy.

How can we communicate with others FOR ourselves and not AGAINST ourselves? How can we find the strength within ourselves to overcome difficulties and tragedies? What is love, what is attachment? Why is it important to experience our sadness and anger in order to transcend them, and how can we do this? Why is it important to live in harmony with yourself, to feel free? How can we find self-love, self-respect and our own legitimacy?

What are thoughts, beliefs and conditioning?

All these themes revolve around the importance of being kind to ourselves and to others...

The "Parle-moi" association (Talk to me) works to prevent all forms of violence, particularly psychological violence and harassment, through :

The book "Par le MOI" (Through the Self), co-written with Steve Alban TINEO, which describes a process of returning to the Self, enabling sufferings to be transformed into a healthy relationship with oneself and with others. The English version "Through the SELF" will be published in early 2023.

Lectures with Mr Steve Alban TINEO, and sung lectures - for adults who have suffered violence, but also for children. The lectures are adapted to suit the age of the children.

The "Through the Self" show, which comes in 4 versions:

- For toddlers (aged 3 to 6)

- For children (aged 6 to 10)

- For pre-teens (aged 11 to 14)

- For adults and teenagers (aged 15 and over)

Drawing on her own experience of resilience, she wrote and composed the songs for "Through the Self" with a real eye for accuracy, convinced that music is a formidable vehicle for conveying emotions and messages. On tour in French-speaking Switzerland in autumn 2021.

Philosophical tales.

Stop Violence" and "Stop Harcèlement" mobile applications - soon to be available on AppleStore and GoogleAps.

Sonia is also working on a musical comedy project, "Une fleur en hiver". She is composing songs based on lyrics by Frédéric Mazé for this show, which conveys the values of respect and tolerance.

Alongside her work as an artist, Sonia collaborates with Steve Alban TINEO, notably as part of "Vision for Peace" - an international project for Peace and contributes to the W3 movement - WinWinWin - For me, for you, for the world, adding the notion of Unity and the common good to the traditional Harvard WinWin.

She is also a spokesperson for Amnesty Switzerland, advocating a change in the law on rape to include the notion of consent.

A fan of spreading joy and light, she also continues to inspire young children and their parents with playful and tender participatory concerts.

“Progressing toward peace requires awareness of ourselves and others, understanding the motives and effects of our behaviors, and taking responsibility for our actions.”

- Sonia Grimm