Walker counselor, parent dance in competition

This Saturday, Team GRL PWR!, made up of Walker Lower School Counselor Kristin Moffett and Walker parent Elizabeth Nesmith will be competing in Dancing with the Stars of Marietta at the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre. The dance competition is hosted every year by the Georgia Metro Dance Theatre to raise money for the studio and to provide scholarships to dancers. This is the second time Moffett and Nesmith have participated. In 2018, they won the People’s Choice Award. This year, they want to be the favorite in the judges’ eyes.

The dancing duo met as neighbors when their children were young. Nesmith had placed fliers in neighbors’ mailboxes inviting children for playdates with her children. When Moffett took her children, the moms hit it off. Moffett and Nesmith said they love to stay healthy, which is one of the things they bonded over and is how they got into dancing. Their trainer, B.J. Toups from MERGE Health, Fitness and Nutrition, was a professional dancer. 

In 2018, Toups’ Mom was the owner of the dance studio that hosted the dance competition, and she was looking for participants for the competition. Originally, she asked if Elizabeth and her husband, Greg, would compete. Greg wasn’t crazy about the idea, so B.J. Toups suggested Moffett and Nesmith compete together. They became the first female duo to dance in the competition. 

To prepare for the competition, Moffett and Nesmith incorporate dance into their workouts by adding a 30-minute rehearsal at the end of their training sessions with Toups, who grew up dancing and performed on Broadway.

“He teaches us all kinds of new moves and flips that can be risky and scary at first but eventually add so much more to our routine,” Moffett said. “It's fun to dance with a friend, and it’s like being a kid again.” 

Dancing With the Stars of Marietta All-Stars