Sharing the good news happening in our community

Growing up, Heaven Colon was always chubby, overweight and overlooked for everything. Raised in a very strict and abusive home, although she had the desire, she was not allowed to play sports or do any extracurricular activities.

The first chance she got, she left and moved to Tennessee

to attend school. When tryouts for cheerleading and the

dance team opened, without hesitation or experience,

she tried out and although she didn’t get picked, it never

stopped her love for dancing. She ministered in

flag and dance praise and still remembers the moment

she was told she was not graceful enough to be a dancer.

“Through all these times of being told what I was not good enough to do, I kept struggling with my weight and became morbidly obese,” she said. ”Then the opportunity to become a Zumba Instructor came along and it changed my life.” 

But while training to be an instructor, because she was the biggest girl in the room, she got the looks from the other girls, a feeling she still hasn’t forgotten. When the trainer recognized her for a move she came up with, those same girls said, Whoa, you can dance! She responded, I never said I couldn’t.

“It was then I began the journey and commitment to be more active through my love of music, dancing and fitness,” she said.

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Now Colon, a licensed Zumba Instructor for nearly 15 years and a Certified Group Fitness Instructor for 12 years through the American Council on Exercise (ACE) is hosting a Party in Purple Dance Fitness Party on Friday, March 28, 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Mary Sue Rich Community Center at Reed Place, 1821 N.W. 21st Ave. 100% of the proceeds benefit the Family Violence Prevention Workgroup, which provides emergency resources and services to local victims and survivors of domestic violence. The event includes a team of instructors from all over Marion County who teach different fitness and dance fitness classes to fit every style, a photo station with purple accessories and outfits and a variety of vendors raffling items for prizes. For the first time, MixxedFit®, a people-inspired dance fitness program that combines explosive dance movements with bodyweight toning, will be added. The cost is $15 per adult and $5 for children 12 and under.  

“We will have survivors amongst us. We will honor those we have lost, and we will dance our way in breaking the shackles and silence of domestic violence, said Colon, Ocala’s first MixxedFit® Instructor and founder of Fully In Tune Temple, LLC., (F.I.T.T.). “Party in Purple has a special place in my heart for personal reasons. I was raised in a domestic violence driven household, and I’m a survivor of family violence.”

Although she always wanted to go into acting and modeling and even tried out for the Reality TV Shows, The Biggest Loser and Mo’Nique’s Fat Chance, Colon said she knew at a young age that she wanted to own a business doing what she loved. A graduate of Polk Community College for Business Administration & Management and Ridge Technical Center for Massage Therapy, over time, she said, dance, fitness and health grew a part of her because she loves learning all things that the mind, body and spirit can do.

Colon knows she has purpose and a calling to serve her community and she gets a sense of fulfillment in witnessing people’s lives transform beyond physical appearances.

“I constantly remind myself how far I have come and I encourage others to do the same by celebrating every bit of their journey,” she said. “I fully live by the mantra; I am a work in progress and each day be better than yesterday.”

For more information, to be a vendor or donate a raffle prize for the event, call or text Heaven at (352) 304-3000.

See page 7 to register or go to https://partyinpurple4domesticviolence.eventbrite.com. To learn more about F.I.T.T., see page 13.