Our Staff
Susie Grimley,
Director
Susie began her dance training in Nashville, TN and continued after moving to Atlanta at Terpsichore, DG School of Ballet, and the Atlanta Ballet. Susie has performed as a guest artist with Covington Regional Ballet and as a company member with Refuge Dance Company, but her heart has been with Praise in Motion since she joined as a dancer in 2002. She became Co-Director in 2017, and Director in 2021. Susie has performed at the Alliance Theater, the Horizon Theater, Theater in the Square, Theatrical Outfit, and the Atlanta Symphony. Susie also served the Atlanta Ballet and the Atlanta Academy of Ballet and Dance as a class pianist in what she describes as “the best day job ever”. In her free time, Susie enjoys letting her cat in, and out, and in, and out, and in….
Christian Smith,
Assistant Director
Christian Smith began dancing at the age of 3 and has continued to pursue her love of dance for over 25 years. She trained primarily in ballet and pointe at En Pointe School of Dance. During her middle and high school years, she performed with Praise in Motion, under directors Kathy Thomas-Law and Rhonda Oltjenbruns. She continued to dance at UGA as a dance minor, where she took ballet, contemporary, jazz, and dance pedagogy. Christian also served as a dance leader for the UGA Wesley Foundation Dance Ministry, whose mission was to restore dance as a form of worship in the church. Christian graduated from UGA in May 2015 with a degree in Exercise and Sports Science and a minor in dance. After college, she taught at various studios in the metro Atlanta area and resumed performing with PIM. She now teaches dance as an elective course at the local private Christian school where she works as a history teacher. In her free time, she enjoys cheering on her Georgia Bulldogs and Atlanta Braves.
Christian is immensely grateful for the way the Lord has used Praise in Motion in her own life, and is honored to have the opportunity to serve in this role!