Coastal Dance Studio

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Susan Dusterdieck Hill,  Artistic Director

Susan's early training came from the Pritchett-Pippin School of Dance. She went on to attend the Cincinnati Ballet Pre-Professional Program. Prior to joining Coastal, Susan chartered a dance program for the Dougherty County School System, having been certified by the GDOE. She is constantly attending dance workshops and competitions to stay abreast of the latest styles and techniques. Her students have won many dance awards and competitions, on regional, state, national and pageant levels.

Susan has been teaching for the past 20 years and is trained by pioneers of children’s dance education.  Professionally trained in all forms of dance, Susan has taught at premier studios in Atlanta, Cincinnati, Albany and Brunswick. She has worked with all levels and ages and has co-directed, staged, and choreographed and costumed 38 dance recitals, as well as musicals, including Smokey Joe’s Café and My Favorite Year.

Susan’s love for children is what brings her to the dance studio each day. Having a family of her own, she believes in creating a fun, safe and constructive environment for learning. Her love for dance is what brings joy to each and every studio success. Susan considers herself lucky to have the best job in the world: teaching dance.

Heather Holmes-Smith, Teacher

Heather cannot remember a time when dance was not a part of her life. She began her training under the instruction of her mother, Wendy E. Holmes, at The Dancer’s Studio of Duxbury. As she got older, Heather continued to broaden her education in Dance, attending Conventions throughout the North East, and receiving training from places such as Walnut Hill School of Performing Arts, The Boston Conservatory, Boston Ballet, and Jeannette Neill Dance Studio. She has been on the faculty at Coastal since 2013, and currently teaches Ballet, Pointe, Contemporary, and Lyrical. Although she enjoys all genres, Ballet and Pointe hold a special place for her. (Just don’t ask her to do Hip Hop. We don’t talk about that “Fantastic Voyage”). Heather is passionate about working with children, and also works in Early Intervention with infants and toddlers with special needs and their families. When she is not dancing or playing with babies, Heather enjoys hiking, camping, gardening, singing loudly in the car, and leaving her two teenage sons in the dust on Mario Kart.

Savannah Willingham, Teacher

Savannah Willingham has a passion for dance that started at a very young age. With 22 years experience in almost all styles of dance, she has danced competitively and performed at Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Atlanta Hawks basketball games, and on several Royal Caribbean cruises. In high school, Savannah was a majorette in the marching band and also participated in several musicals. During her sophomore year of college, Savannah joined the Georgia Southern Dance Team where she danced for three years and coached for one. She moved to Camden county in 2018 and has been teaching for Coastal since then. Savannah teaches mathematics at Camden County High and choreographs numbers for the dance program every now and then. She adores all of her students and loves watching them grow as dancers and as people. When she is not teaching, Savannah enjoys spending time with her husband and their cat, Pepper.

Monica Womack, Teacher

Monica has been training in all genres of dance for 25 years. She began her early training under Kim Picard at A Chance to Dance. Through-out her training and competitive dance routines she took master classes under the tutelage of Mia Michaels, Tyce Diorio, Wade Robson and many others. At 18, she became the youngest rookie to join one of the NFL Professional Cheerleading teams and worked with them for five years. Monica has been a part of the Coastal Dance family for over ten years. She continues her passion for dance by sharing her experience with all of her dance students.