Meet Juvier Houston aka Kizomba Goddess of Atlanta Georgia

Today we’d like to introduce you to Juvier Houston.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Juvier. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
Two years ago, I began my journey as a budding Kizomba Dancer. Years prior, I used to see videos of this beautiful dance called “Kizomba” and I thought to myself… I want to learn this dance. At the time, I didn’t believe that I could have the confidence to learn it. Seeing though I am a plus size woman and I don’t fit the typical look of a dancer and the fact that I have never taken any dance classes in my whole life made it more challenging. I began to take classes. It started off once, twice then 3 times week. I would practice daily. I was determined to learn this dance. I went to every Kizomba Social and got acquainted with all the Kizomba Instructors in Atlanta.

My first teacher was Mwangi Mania, then Benie Duvaillare, then King Mandume and last but not least Alian Fokam. I was able to gain knowledge and skills from each instructor. Which is great, because all four instructors have their own style. Later, I created my own Facebook group called “I want to learn Kizmoba dancing.” I started with only 5 members.

Through hard work, advertisement, promoting and sharing my love for this dance, my group numbers began to grow. Today, I have over 500 members. My facebook group “I want to learn Kizomba Dance” https://www.facebook.com/groups/677128479053783/. I use the group to connect people with other instructors and events worldwide. Soon, I began to travel to various Kizomba Festivals/Workshops that last all day, night and the weekend. My first out of state festival was in Orlando Florida, then Chicago. I began to record myself practicing and that’s when my fan base grew… my views grew. I went from a few hundred views to 5,000 -20,000 views per video. I started to attract a lot of interest. My videos were even making a buzz in Africa. This past March, several kizomba communities in Accra Ghana reached out to me. They asked me to come to Ghana to share my love and passion for this dance. They wanted me to teach and a do a dance demo. I was so humbled and excited for this lifetime opportunity. This was the highest point of my career so far. To fly to another country to share what you love doing most. To walk into a place and they greet you with so much love and care and they all know your name. To see your face on flyers and event pages… surreal… I tell ya…

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Prior to going to Ghana, I almost gave up on Kizomba. There were so many challenges that I faced in this journey. I was often overlooked in this dance scene because I didn’t fit the description of a typical dancer. Also, people didn’t take me seriously at first… Many laughed at me when I told them my name “Kizomba Goddess”. Many questioned my abilities to dance for many reasons. But my love and passion for this dance kept me going. Now many doors are opening for me. The possibilities are endless. I now host a monthly dance social with my partner Tamanika Oda. It is called Sultry Saturday’s and that’s every 2nd Saturday of each month. I began to teach basic/intro to Kizomba. My goal is to eventually teach this wonderful dance. I now have two upcoming radio interviews to look forward to. I start my own female kizomba dance group which will be out soon. So I decided to incorporate my skills and talents as I grow more and more into Kizomba. I already had my own business call Div9ne Creations Jemery. I make custom unique jewelry for men and women. Wire wrapping of crystals and stones or beadwork. I also sell African clothes and accessories. So I started targeting the Kizomba crowd. I started creating unique items to showcase as fashion and accessories for dancers. I also started designing t-shirts for the Kizomba community. So I took my passion for Kizomba and created market. I am growing daily. I am thankful I found Kizomba. It has changed my life in so many ways. It is my stress release, my happy spot in this world and I want to share it with everyone.

Contact Info:

• Website: Www.KizombaGoddess.com / https://div9necreations.ecwid.com/
• Phone: 678-274-9099
• Email Address: kizombagoddess@gmail.com
• Instagram: KizombaGoddess
• Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/kizombagoddess
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiBitOk81qrP-1WNRODyN9Q
• Other: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/kizombagoddess/

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