bio

Simonetta Pacek is a nationally known Catholic recording artist and founder/director of The Little Flowers Troupe. 

Under her direction, The Little Flowers Troupe became the Chicago area’s leading Catholic performing arts group.  Often referred to as “The Best Catholic Theatre in Chicagoland”, Simonetta’s original dance choreography and other dramatic and comedic performances have found a large and enthusiastic following, translating into sell-out appearances attended by thousands.  Simonetta also founded The Little Flowers Performing Arts Center (LFPAC), to train tomorrow’s Catholic artists in theatre, acting, dance and music.

In 1997, she attended a retreat with Ven. Fr. John A Hardon, SJ and upon receiving spiritual direction that she “should write”, she returned home and began writing music for the first time.  This eventually grew into a series of award winning Catholic recordings, including her popular debut album “Keep Your Eyes on the Beloved”, audiobook “King of the Golden City” (among others), and her 2 best-selling Rosary recordings with Fr. Benedict J. Groeschel CFR, which have been heard daily on Catholic radio nationally since 2003. 

How it began…

Simonetta has been deeply involved in Chicago’s performing arts community since childhood, where her father and mother were both highly regarded music figures in Chicago’s Lithuanian community.  She danced with the Knights of Lithuania folk group as a child and teen and then studied ballet with Jaunutis (Jan) Puodziunas, a well known Lithuanian ballet teacher and choreographer.  At University, she studied modern dance and choreography under Shirley Mordine at Columbia College in Chicago, where she graduated with a degree in dance/choreography.

After a break for marriage and children, Simonetta returned to teach folk dance with the Knights of Lithuania Dancers, including the International Lithuanian Dance Festival Sokiu Svente, and became Director/Choreographer of the Amber Ball, the top, annual social event of Chicago area Lithuanians.

Her recording “America the Beautiful” was featured on WLS-AM in Chicago.  In 2013, she recorded a CD of sacred polyphony with her 4 daughters under the name Simonetta and Fourever titled “Ineffable”.  She has had a chapter dedicated to her Eucharistic conversion story in David Pearson’s book, “No Wonder They Call it the Real Presence”.

Her defining work however, has been with Little Flowers Troupe and includes many original dance pieces combining modern, folk and ballet, often incorporated into original dramatic and comedic plays and performances in a dance and acting format she termed “dancicals”.  These include popular performances such as “Remember Me”, “The King of the Golden City” and “The Conversion of Scrooge”, a Catholic take on the traditional Dickens tale, among others. 

Simonetta also created a renowned Lenten Performance called “The Seven Last Words of Christ”, which features a live 50 voice choir, professional vocal soloists, an orchestra and a live, theatrical passion play with dozens of actors in professional costuming and sets.  Performances of “The Seven Last Words” have been staged all over Chicagoland to large, sell-out crowds.

Simonetta’s “Hope’s Café” was the world’s 1^st Catholic Internet Sitcom, and due to popular demand also enjoyed a successful string of live performances.

Simonetta’s founding of The Little Flowers Performing Arts Center (LFPAC), was her response to improve the professionalism of the Catholic Performing Arts movement under her vision of beauty, discipline and virtue. It closed due to COVID, as classes were forbidden by the State of Illinois.

Quick takeaways:

The Present…

Simonetta relocated with her family to the Nashville, TN area in 2022 and is looking forward to this new chapter in her artistic life.