Abira Greene Doesn't Dance Anymore. Here's The Real Reason Why - Exclusive
Abira Greene is many things: a mom, an entrepreneur, a businesswomen, a singer, and the bold force behind some of Little Women: Atlanta's most captivating drama. Her on-going frenemy relationship with Amanda and Andrea Salinas, best known as the twins, helped transform her role from series regular to a main cast member. It plays out even further in Season 6, which premiered on Lifetime in January 2021 and focuses on everything from the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement to the tragic loss of castmate Minnie Ross.
Today, Greene is adept in her role. In fact, she's the kind of fire-starter producers dream of and a notable fan favorite. However, as it turns out, that so-called fire has always been burning inside of her. In some ways, it actually defines her. When Abira moved to Atlanta to pursue music, the reality star literally was best known as Fire, her exotic dancing stage name. Dancing is what actually kick-started her success in the world of entertainment, and though she's since doused that particular flame, she sat down with Nicki Swift for an exclusive interview to discuss it.
Here's the real reason Abira hung up her high heels.
Since Abira Greene started dancing for her kids, she quit for them too
Abira Greene owes a lot of her current success to the fame she gained while dancing, but her career started in a rather mundane way — kind of like how anyone picks up an office job or starts taking shifts at a local restaurant. Abira needed money, and dancing was a way to get it. No one could predict her astounding success (like we said above, she's a natural entertainer both on stage and on screen). "It was about survival," she told Nicki Swift. "But I just happened to get famous and make a lot of money off of it."
More importantly than fame, the job helped her support her four children — Jazsper, J-Henri, Terbira, and Phebe. So, when they wanted her stop, it only made sense to call it quits. "As my kids grew up, they actually came to me and said they didn't want me to dance anymore," she said. "So, of course, I was doing it for them, so therefore, I can't dance anymore. So I chose to stop dancing, because my two oldest just didn't want me to do it anymore, and I felt that was enough reason for me to stop."
Since Abira quit dancing, she's been focused on helping her kids grow their own careers and teaching them about, in her words, generational wealth. "I'm building businesses with the children," Abira told Nicki Swift. "Just to show them."
Forget dancing, Abira Greene is focused on business
These days, Abira Greene's standing behind Terbira and Phebe as they jump into the beauty industry. Terbira has an eyelash line called Lash Vibez (Abira says she specializes in "false lashes, minks and normals, the big ones that all the kids love to wear"), Phebe is in the beginning stages of starting a handmade, lip gloss business. "I want her to really know what it takes," Abira said. "Now, eventually, of course, because we know if everything is going to pop, she won't do it herself. But starting off, I think she needs to learn that footwork."
You'd think that between Little Women and mentoring her kids, Abira wouldn't have any time left over for her own personal projects, but she's actually busier than ever. The star has a budding acting career, the soon-to-be clothing and accessories brand Are You As Tall As Me, and her music career (at the time of our interview, she mentioned that she was hopping into the studio the following day with her on-again, off-again boyfriend Bumpman to work on her new record).
Like most live entertainers, Abira's music career came to a brief halt during the coronavirus pandemic, but that actually helped inspire her new single, along with Minnie Ross' unexpected death. The singer plans to debut her track "Don't Give Up" on Season 6 of Little Women: Atlanta, but she's holding off on announcing any other release dates for her album or the launch of her brand. "I feel like those are going to be something special," she told Nicki Swift. "I've had fans looking out for that, so I want to make it a big rooha when I do announce the dates."
Little Women: Atlanta airs on Fridays at 9/8c on Lifetime.