Episode #5: In Conversation with Kizomba Promoter Seyi

SUMMARY

Seyi, the guest, runs one of the best Kizomba nights in London called Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays. The event has been running for 13 years and has a strong following. Seyi's father originally started the event, and Seyi took over after his father decided to stop. Seyi is not only a Kizomba enthusiast but also involved in youth work, coaching boxing and Muay Thai. He considers Kizomba, combat sports, and cooking as his main passions. Seyi enjoys hosting the event and seeing people connect and have a good time. Seyi, the founder of Chocolate Kizomba, discusses the Kizomba scene in the UK and his experiences running a successful Kizomba night. He talks about the diversity of the Kizomba community in London and the welcoming vibe of the scene. Seyi shares his plans for the future, including organizing a Kizomba barbecue and creating more community experiences. He also discusses the impact of Kizomba on his life, including making new friends and learning Portuguese. Seyi emphasizes the importance of music in attracting people to Kizomba and shares his favorite Kizomba artists. He concludes by discussing the pressure of running a Kizomba night and his desire to bring more fighters into the Kizomba community.

TAKEAWAYS

• Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays is one of the best Kizomba nights in London and has been running for 13 years.

• Seyi took over the event from his father and enjoys hosting it.

• Seyi is involved in youth work, coaching boxing and Muay Thai, and considers Kizomba, combat sports, and cooking as his main passions.

• The event provides a space for people to connect and have a good time.

• Seyi is an introvert but enjoys seeing people enjoy themselves at the event. The Kizomba scene in London is diverse and welcoming, with a mix of ages and demographics.

• Spreading the joy of Kizomba and promoting the culture is a priority for Seyi and Chocolate Kizomba.

• Music plays a crucial role in attracting people to Kizomba, and sharing music can help introduce new people to the dance.

• Seyi plans to organize a Kizomba barbecue and create more community experiences in the future.

• Kizomba has impacted Seyi's life by allowing him to make new friends, experience different cultures, and step out of his comfort zone.

• Seyi aims to improve the quality of Kizomba dancing in the UK and change the reputation of UK dancers globally.

• The most embarrassing moment on the dance floor for Seyi was accidentally hitting a partner in the head.

• Seyis dream dance location would be Angola, where he could fully immerse himself in the Kizomba culture.

• Seyi appreciates the support and energy of the Kizomba community and expresses gratitude to everyone involved in Chocolate Kizomba.

  
  SOUND BITES

"I like hosting, I love meeting people, I do all that. But once the party starts, I don't necessarily need to, as long as everyone's okay."
"I wanted to make sure I tried to foster. I want people to come and feel like home."
"I've tried everything. Even my friends that can dance. They will never dance kizomba."
"I think the Kizomba scene wherever you go, it's a social scene. So it does have a welcoming vibe."
"Kizomba has made me stop being antisocial to a degree, because I have to come out of myself to talk."
"Collaboration is definitely big. So yeah, let's keep doing that."

CHAPTERS

00:00 Introduction to Shay and Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays
02:01 Seyi's Background and Passions
04:23 The Evolution of Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays
05:21 Seyi's Father and the Origins of the Event
08:02 The Different Venues of Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays
09:59 The Impact of Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays
13:26 Seyi's Unexpected Journey as an Event Organizer
15:45 The Appeal of Kizomba and Overcoming Fear
21:02 Choosing Tuesdays as the Event Day
23:28 The Challenge of Getting Men to Dance Kizomba
27:22 The Impact of COVID-19 on Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays
29:19 Attracting New People to Kizomba
34:08 The Fulfilment of Hosting Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays
37:30 Other Kizomba Events and Traveling
39:21 The Diverse and Welcoming Kizomba Scene in London
44:14 The Impact of Kizomba on Seyi's Life
49:46 Spreading the Joy and Promoting Kizomba
57:30 Future Plans: Kizomba Barbecue and Community Experiences
01:09:39 The Power of Music in Attracting People to Kizomba
01:12:31 Embarrassing Moments on the Dance Floor
01:14:00 Dream Dance Location: Angola
01:15:25 Appreciating the Support and Energy of the Kizomba Community

TRANSCRIPT

Victor (00:00.11)

Victor (00:05.102)

Hello, Kizomba enthusiasts, and welcome back to another episode of Kizomba Conversations. I'm your host , and today we have another amazing guest. This person is not only a good Kizomba dancer, he's the brains behind one of the best Kizomba nights in London. You can catch him on a Tuesday in the heart of London, running the best night, which is Kizomba Chocolate Tuesdays. His name is Seyi, and we're going to welcome him right now. How are you doing, Shay? Seyi? not too bad, how are you?

Seyi

I am good, man. Thank you very, very much for coming down. Thanks for having me. Excited, nervous, but yeah. All good? All good, all good. Fantastic, man. So as you know, we're only here to talk about the good stuff around Kizomba. Yeah. Now you run one of the best nights of Kizomba, period. I'm going to say in London, but you know, you could say, I'm going to say maybe worldwide, maybe, right? Because, you know, if you're in, if anybody's in London and they're wanting to dance Kizomba.

they need to check your night out on a Tuesday night in Regent Street, correct? Yeah. Yeah. Because you've always got some of the best DJs there. It's a good vibe. And we can just say that we were there last night, weren't we? Yes. We were there until two in the morning on a weeknight. Until two So we are a little bit tired, but yeah, you kept me out last night, but yeah, great place to come down to. So we're going to talk to you, find out a bit about how that operation started, and why you love Kizomba and all the good stuff.

Yeah. All right. But I mean, you know, we always want to start off with the first things and, you know, we want to find out a bit about you. Okay. Cause obviously I know you, I've known you for some years now. you know, and I remember you as, you know, a photographer, right? Back in the day. Yeah. So you would go around taking pictures and posting them up that night pretty much. but now you've built this, well, you know, great night. Obviously, I think you've, taken that

over in terms of running it. So I know you a bit, people know you a bit, but we don't necessarily know a lot about you. Okay, so who is Seyi? Yeah. Tell us a bit about you. You know, anything you want to tell us just outside of Kizomba first. Outside of Kizomba, I do a lot of sort of youth work. So I do mentoring and advocacy, mainly with teens. I coach boxing and Muay Thai.

Seyi (02:29.71)

So combat sports, I would say, is my first love. wow. Okay. Then I would say my second love is a toss up between cooking and Kizomba. man. So, yeah, it's, well, yeah, that's effectively my sort of week to week. It includes working with young people, Kizomba, combat sports, and yeah, cooking to survive. But yeah, it's all good. So you can look after yourself. Yeah. You can, as in physically.

Yeah, you can cook. Yeah. And you can dance. Three good qualities. I think a lot of ladies like. Well rounded man. Okay, cool man. That's excellent. That keeps you busy then. Yeah, busy.

My week is quite busy, but thankfully, I guess in the last few years, I've managed to make sure that everything sort of works. So I do have some busy days.

But like I'm in school three days a week. I'm coaching two days a week, Kizomba, my event once a week. So it still gives me time to focus on other stuff. And then also photography, obviously. I still do that on the side. But I only got into photography actually because of the Kizomba event. So Kizomba has been a bit of a blessing and it's led to multiple things now. When I never, never, never thought it would.

And is it taken over more? So all those things that you describe, is it taken over more of those things? You know, so you talked about, you know, your Muay Thai cooking, all that kind of stuff. Is Kizomba like your main thing? I'd say the balance of all. It's the main thing in terms of it's definitely a part of my week, which I think like many people when I don't do it, I feel weird that week. Like if I've not had a little dance, if I've not trained.

Yeah, those two things. I guess it's to do with movement of the body, which is maybe the big appeal of Kizomba. You're getting your body to move and wake up. So when I've not done those things, it does feel a bit like what's happening right now. And for instance, if I'm not, if we don't have a Tuesday, I feel weird. Because that's been every Tuesday pretty much for 13 years, with the exception of like the odd holiday and COVID obviously. And so for two years my dad stopped it.

Seyi (04:52.494)

Every Tuesday for 13 years I've been at Chocolate Tuesdays. So when now there's no Kizomba, it's like, what's happening? It's kind of a missing thing, isn't it? I feel it too, bruh. I feel it too. So, you know, you mentioned your dad there and obviously we have to talk about your dad. So, I mean, the question is leading into how you came to Kizomba. So obviously, you know, you run Chocolate Tuesdays now. One of the best nights in London.

So you'd run that now, but your dad was the one who I guess originated that. Yeah. Yeah. So talk to us a bit about, well, him then, you know, how that all kind of started. If you... From my understanding, he was a Salsa dancer, as I feel like a lot of the The African and Caribbean crowd that we have in the Kizomba scene, I feel like a lot of them came from Salsa, especially the ones that have been dancing for a while. Then when Kizomba came to the UK, I imagine, and I've heard a few people say this, just the fact that Kizomba is more of an African and Caribbean Sound. So it sounds more similar to, I guess, our home music. Because of that, he now got into Kizomba. After learning it for a bit, he eventually put on Chocolate Tuesdays and

was doing that for up until a year before COVID, I believe, until the lockdown.

And then he stopped it. And then after COVID, I brought it back. But yeah, thanks to Pops. Thanks to Pops. If it wasn't for him, I never would have, I don't even think Kizomba would be on my radar, if I'm being completely honest. But it's led to, yeah, it's led to photography. It's led to me meeting and understanding a new culture and so many different things. So it's been quite a blessing to be fair. That's amazing. That's amazing. And you mentioned the word salsa.

Okay. So you said he started off with salsa. Yes. Yeah. He found Kizomba. And is it fair to say that he just left salsa after that? I don't think he's... I don't know when the last time he danced salsa was. But yeah, Kizomba took over for him.

Seyi (07:06.062)

And I understand why, like for me, I mean, I love Salsa as well. I can't dance it. It's something I would like to learn at some point, maybe Cuban or Cali -style Salsa. But yeah, the Kizomba has taken over. It's the music, the sounds of the music. It's just, yeah, man. We talk about it a lot on this show and I'm exactly the same. Salsa, and I remember actually dancing, well, going to clubs and your dad was there as well. A long time ago, we used to do salsa. And then, you know, I got introduced to Kizomba and I'm literally the same as him. I didn't look back. I don't dislike it. I still like it. But this dance, Kizomba, just grabs you. It Just grabs you.

Okay, great. So yeah, so he started all that. So talk to us then, when he was doing that, you know, at Chocolate, well, it wasn't called Chocolate then, was it? It was called Gem Bar. It's always been called Chocolate. It was called Chocolate Tuesdays, but when he started it, he started it at Corks. Yes.

Then from corks, it went to, I think from then it went straight to gem, which is now Be at One. Then from when Be at One took over a gem bar originally, they said we weren't allowed to be there anymore. So they moved. So they kicked us out. And then that's when he found Loop. So it's been in three places while he was doing it. Well, yeah, corks was the original one. It's so funny. I still remember Corks so, so vividly. Yeah.

And back then I used to help out just taking money on the door and then photography. And I think the only reason I got into dancing is because one week there were no men at all. And Denise, who was teaching at the time, I think it was Denise, was like, look, you're the only guy in the building apart from your dad. Come and do a lesson. So I was like, I don't really want to do it, but I'll do it. And this is after two years of being there every Tuesday. So it took me a long, long time. In my defence, I was like 20.

So I had youth as an excuse and I was like, it's not really my thing. But yeah, once I started, I was like, yeah, I like it. And I did lessons pretty much every Tuesday from that point. I Wouldn't dance at the party, but I'll do the lessons. But yeah, so from corks, I think once it went to Gem Bar, be at one now, that's when it got really popular. And I feel like Chocolate Tuesdays at Gem was the Kizomba place for many years in the Kizomba scene in London. I feel like it was the place of anyone who's been dancing Kizomba for a while in London.

I think the fact it is in Central, everyone could just come. So a lot of the teachers that I teach now and I've been teaching then were all there. Even people that weren't teaching then but are teaching now, whether they're dancing, people that are DJs, all there.

It's so it's sort of like the home to it in a way. I sort of felt like a bit like a home for many people in Kizomba.

Yeah, no, absolutely. Totally right. And it's like, you know, like you say, it's been there for years. I took some of my early classes there as well. And, you know, it's so well established. It's probably one of the longest running Kizomba nights that we have. Yeah. And people just keep coming back. It's a. It's an Addiction for Tuesdays. I think. So yeah, we're going to keep, obviously you're going to keep doing it and then we don't want to ever want to see that go away because you've got such a good crowd.

Like you say, DJs go there. You've got DJs on rotation. Some of the best DJs as well. Some of the best teachers go there as well. So yeah, please keep doing what you're doing. So you were talking about your dad then. And so I guess what I want to find out from you is when, because like I said, I remember you not dancing years ago, right? And you were always taking pictures. Yeah.

So when did you kind of pick it up and decide, you know what, I actually like this. I know you said you were just talking about the classes that you had. I actually like this. And obviously you had a conversation with dad because he was going to not do it anymore. But when did you say, cause it could have, I guess you could have given it to somebody else, right? Whatever. But you know, you, you took the reign. So why did you decide to do that? What made you think that?

Yeah, chance to chance. I'll be very honest. I had no intention. Yeah, like no intention of doing it. So when I guess my love for dancing  happened in lockdown. Yeah. So even before that, again,  I would go out maybe on a Tuesday, I would dance every now and again. I would always do the lessons because I'm around it.

Seyi (11:57.102)

But I wouldn't say at that point I really loved it. I had a love for it. And then it was during lockdown when there were those little house parties that weren't meant to be happening. That didn't happen, shall I say. I went to a few of those. Shout out ZoZo. And yeah, it was in those parties I was like, you know what, I really enjoy this. It was just, it was not, I think hindsight being 20 -20 and thinking about it now, it was just being able to connect with people again. And the fact that it happened in lockdown and we were just coming together to dance, it was nice. And I think that's where I got my love for dancing it myself. Like I'd always enjoyed the music, but dancing it myself came from that lockdown. And then how I intended, how the club came about, again, it wasn't intended. So to the point where I actually remember my sister telling me...

years ago.

This one, my dad was doing the event. She has premonitions and she's okay. Like she, yeah, stuff she says like they come to pass like she's spiritual. I remember her telling me she called me up one night and was like, I've just had this sort of dream that you're gonna do a Kizomba event. It will be quite successful, be popular, and it will be sort of better than it is now. Like it will be an improvement on it. She called me. I was like, no way. I heard it won't happen.

But then after lockdown, I went to one of my friend's events at the Macbeth. So that's where it was when I started it back. It happened, I was a bit drunk. I became friends with the bar owner and yeah, we just had a bromance that night and he sort of said, look, if you want to do an event, come and do it here. And I was like, I don't really do events, but if anything, I'll try Kizomba. And literally just like that, tried it. First six months were very difficult.

I don't think I could have done continuity if it wasn't for my dad, because my dad did support in those first six months because there were weeks at the Macbeth whereby people weren't spending money behind the bar. So I'd have to cover the bar spend and my dad helped me out a lot with things like that. But then after those six months, I realized the Macbeth wouldn't work just because of location. So I went back, to be at one, had some conversations with them and convinced them to let us try a dance there.

And I think it was a mix of good timing because they were trying to recover from lockdown. And then also, I'm quite good at convincing people. If I want to be, I could be, yeah, I could be kind of - That was gonna be my next question to you. How did you do that? Yeah. I'm good at building rapport. I was able to build a nice relationship with them. So they allowed me to bring Kizomba back then.

And since it's been at Be at One again, it's just been getting better and better. And I'm very thankful for that. And thankfully they, as a company, as a host venue, love the event. They love Tuesdays. They like the crowd. So thank you to everyone who comes, because it's the energy of people there that's amazing. They love the crowd. They even like the vibe. Like a lot of times the bounces, the security, you want to come down and do little dances, the...

people behind the bar just like when the lessons are going on, they're trying to learn Kizomba. So it's nice. It just fits. It fits very well. Yeah. Yeah. So that's how it's come about now. But it was something I never intended to do. Had you asked me three years ago, yeah, three, four years ago, I would have been like that. It's amazing how things turn around, isn't it? It's crazy.

The universe of the Lord, however you want to say it, puts things in your path at certain times, and they can work. That's amazing. Sorry, I'm just laughing because you were talking about some security guards dancing, and I've definitely seen that when I've been down there, man. Yeah, they're just getting down. Yeah, just enjoy it. That's what the music does to you, man. Even security, they just start moving their hips. And I think also because it's downstairs and they're still doing their normal bar upstairs, a lot of times people would come downstairs to go to the toilet. And obviously the gent's toilet is right there. And you'll see they'll walk and they'll hear the music. They'll turn and see the crowd and they're like, they'll stop and stare for a bit as like, what's happening here? And they just look so, so interested. And then it's, it's a nice way to sort of get people to, ask what's this, what's going on? And then obviously explain, come for lessons and whatnot.

Victor (16:42.51)

That's nice. No, no, no. It's good. So let's talk a bit about, you know, because you were talking about the Macbeth Bar. . Yes. So basically, obviously, you know, Gem Bar has been in that spot for a long time. Yeah. And it's kind of like, that's the spot we know. Yeah. It's Gem Bar. We know how the club looks. We know the feel of it. And people, people don't necessarily like change anyway. Right. But we don't really want to change. But there was a point where it wasn't there.

Just literally wasn't there on a Tuesday, it stopped, right? And then you went through these other places. What was that time like? Were you kind of involved at that point or, you know, how was it feeling? I was involved only in the sense of being there to support my dad. Yeah, like I, the whole time my dad was organizing the event, I never got involved in any organization. Okay. So I was just there to take photos and help out on the door. But I guess even from my perspective then I could see the difference between being at Gem and being at Loop. Exactly. It's huge. Yeah, exactly. Like the whole atmosphere just changed. I think there's something about Gem, albeit one now, which is the size of it. It makes things feel a bit more intimate. So it's not too big. Like the Loop was too big. And even though it was five minutes down the road. Yeah, it's so people just really don't like change because five minutes down the road, but still it wasn't, it didn't attract the same people.

Yeah, I think maybe the size of it has a big part to play and now it's, yeah, which is why since it's been back, it's been people are coming back, people are coming back. And it's even now in the last six months, I'm seeing more people that used to come 10 years ago that I've not seen in 10 years, but I see their face, I remember your face and everyone's starting to sort of come back slowly, even if it's not every week, but from that time they'll come.

That's what's good because sometimes I'll come down there and then it's like, I haven't seen this person for a very long time. Sometimes it's completely different. It's like, but the music's always there. That's the main thing. And I think even the fact that it's been going on for so long, it helps to create the family feel, which I like about it. It's something that I, when I did start it, I wanted to make sure I tried to foster. I want people to come and feel like home.

Seyi(19:09.393)

I've always liked hosting. Like every summer I have a barbecue. nice. Every summer. Yeah. People come round, I cook, you chill. I've got food on the grill. And it was in my head, it was a sort of similar, I wanted to create a similar vibe. Like I'm coming to my house and it's cool, come to my house, enjoy yourselves. Like don't worry about anything. And it does help that, yeah, there's people that we've known there for so long.

because already it means that it's easy to talk, it's easier to just talk and connect with people. Yeah, it's nice. No, I like what you said there about coming to your house and wanting to do that whole hosting thing, because when you come at it from that kind of perspective, it's basically giving joy to people, right? Yeah. And that's what it's all about, because this dance brings you a lot of joy, pretty much. You know what I mean?

And that's why we're here to spread the joy of Kizomba to as many people as we can reach. Anyway, Being at the door now and like, I guess as I'm watching more now than I used to when I was in photography, like there's been times I've seen people come in after work and they look heavy. Like they really look like, yo, today's been long. Given an hour and a half of dancing, they  are a different person when they leave the building. And yeah, bringing that in, it feels good to see that.

It feels good to see people sort of come in, like maybe be a bit shy because they don't know anyone. But within maybe a week or two, it's like they've exchanged numbers of people and they've got their own little community going on. These are the sort of things I really like about it. Exactly. And building friendships and that kind of stuff, man. Great. Great. Great. Why Tuesdays? Why did your dad pick...

I don't have a clue you know. I don't have a clue. I don't have a clue. Maybe, I don't know if back then, I think there might have been a few things going on other days of the week. What day was Nomads? Nomads might have been a Thursday back then. Nomads, another club back in the day. Yeah. I forgot about Nomads. Okay, yeah, yeah. So I think maybe just in terms of what day was free. Okay. I think what day was free and what day was possible to find a venue because finding a venue on a Friday or Saturday is super hard. Yeah.

Seyi (21:32.078)

Because dancers don't drink and obviously bars want a bar so it's just more, I reckon it was more of a thing of this is what we can do in terms of we don't want to clash with anyone else and we need to find something which is affordable. I assume that's why Tuesdays. Yeah. Yeah. No rhyme or reason behind it, just luck of the draw. Yeah. So it wasn't like, okay, we're going to target Tuesdays. This is going to be a good plan. It just happened to be that day. It just happened to be. And so I think when I started

When I took over and I started Macbeth, I did do Thursdays for a bit. I did because I think my thinking at the time was that Thursdays are the new Fridays. But Chocolate Tuesdays works. I don't know why it works. I don't know why people are out until two in the morning every Tuesday. It just happens to work.

Victor (22:30.766)

luck of the draw. Yeah, luck of the draw. And it's just stuck. It's stuck. People miss their Tuesdays when they don't get to do it. I think, yeah, so building that habit. I think the habits there. So it's just like, you know what, it's, it's, I'm starting to see as I speak to people more, it's people sort of see coming to Kizomba like, maybe going to the gym or going to pilates so going to whatever you do on your weekly, this is my, this is my block for myself. It's like that.

So once you've started something, you don't want to change the day. Absolutely. Yeah, no, keep it up, my friend, keep it up. I mean, Thursdays would be nice because I don't work on a Friday. OK. Nobody's ready for that change. Yeah, no, not really. You must have plenty of notice. That's one of those mirrors on a Thursday. OK, yeah, so there you go. Exactly. So you touched on the fact that you obviously love Kizomba, I love Kizomba, all the people that come to your event love Kizomba.

Was your first lesson with Denise or where did you take your first lesson? Corks. Corks. Yeah. I want to say it was Denise. And I feel like it was Denise because I remember her effectively like having to pull me by the teeth to come in. And Denise has that sort of energy to be like, yo, you're coming. Whether you like it or not, you're going to answer it. And yeah, it was literally only because it was me and my dad, the only guys in the building.

The shortage of men has been an issue. I feel like dancing in general, not just Kizomba, Salsa, and Bachata. But it's been an issue since back then. And it was only because of that I tried. And during that time, I would do the lessons, as I said, but I wouldn't dance socially. One thing I realized actually,  I only got better once I really started dancing in the social. I could dance in the

in the lessons, but that's like, especially the way I learned with my body, like I could pick that up quite quickly, but then putting it into practice in the social was actually how I liked to improve the dance.

Yeah. so yeah, it's been over 10, like 10 years now of dancing Kizomba, learning Kizomba. How was your first lesson? How did you find it? If you can remember. I mean, I didn't want to do it, so I was just nervous. It was just a big thing. I was nervous. I didn't feel comfortable.

Seyi (24:53.838)

And I'm also someone I could be a bit, my nature, which I guess goes, is opposite to me being a host, is that I'm very within myself. So I think especially when I was 20, it's like, I don't really want to be around people like this and doing something which feels so uncomfortable. Because anything I had done at that point was only football or boxing. So dancing was new to me and I'm not a dancer.

Yeah, like I've never been a dancer. If you see me in a club, I'm bubbling by the bar with my Guinness and two -step. It's nothing more than that. But so because I'm always really coming out of my comfort zone. OK, which is why I sort of understand when I speak to my male friends, I'm trying to get them to come down. I understand the hesitancy and also the fact that I had to lead the dance. I think that made me more nervous as well. I don't know what I'm doing. Yeah, it's just a bit of fear. Yeah. But once you come over that fear, it's just like.

It's walking. Yeah, yeah. It's really not complicated if you don't overthink it.

Yeah. But yeah, I was just nervous around that. So I think my age was the biggest part of it. Yes. Like I was 20 and no one else was at that time. No one else my age was in the space. Yeah. Everyone was like my father's guest. So they saw it as an older person's thing. Yeah.

Basically. Yeah, I swear as an older person, I was like, this is my dad's, I'm here to help, but it's not my love. Wow. So we've gone from that to having one of the best nights. All right. So how long then in total has Gem, Chocolate Tuesdays? How long was it? 13 years. I believe. Yeah. I believe 20, 2024 now. Yeah. 13 years. Wow. That's a long, long time. Long time. That's a long time.

Like I said, I remember back in the days going there, doing some of my early classes there. A range of different teachers going through there. So it's been a great experience. So it's been running for that length of time, solidly, consistently. And then this little thing called COVID happens to the world. So the impact of that, do you remember that? And how did that affect things?

Seyi (27:22.606)

In terms of the... I think my dad stopped Tuesdays before Covid hit, to be fair. So I think, yeah, it being that loop, I think it was a mix of when it moved venues, it was never the same. And then my dad had been doing it for such a long time. I think he was just tired of certain things, which I understand. So during Covid...

I guess the biggest thing for me was I got the chance to just dance on my own accord. So it was actually a positive thing for me personally. Yeah, I think for me personally, it was just like I got the chance to just dance on my own audition, I'm going to go dance and fell in love with it. Yeah. And now with the connection. But I also think maybe why Kizomba was since COVID, I'll say Kizomba is growing at a faster rate. Okay, it's interesting. And I'd maybe say that COVID, the element of COVID which affected that is, again, we weren't able to connect with people. But I think the big draw of Kizomba is the connection element. Especially if you can feel safe in a person in that dance, it's an amazing feeling. So I think maybe that's two years where we couldn't see people. And then once we're now cool, we're able to come out and connect again. It's like,

Yeah, it's nice. Absolutely. So you find that you're getting lots of newer people, more people trying it then? Yes. Yeah. Especially in the last year. Last year. Yeah. That's one of my big sort of goals like when I started this once I started to come back to Gem. Be at one. It was, I guess, seeing the facts. Initially, it was the same faces from 10 years ago. Yeah.

Seyi (29:19.086)

It was, which is cool. Nothing wrong with it. But I would like to see some younger people, not younger people, some newer people, just because more, yeah, some people are still there, but a lot of people stopped coming. So we need some, as people are leaving, we need people coming in. So yeah, attracting people has been a big part of it. And I think a big thing that people are attracted to is that connection element. Yeah. Yeah.

So let me ask you then, because you mentioned this about the lack of men. Yes. Yeah. So why do you think that is? Any ideas as to why? Scared. No other reason. They're just scared. What are they scared of? They're just scared. I couldn't tell you. It's something, like for instance, my friends, I've been telling them about because I'm for 10 years plus. What do you, okay, so what do you say to them? I've tried everything. Yeah. I've tried everything.

Even my friends that can dance. So like one of my best mates, he's Congolese. Congolese are amazing dancers in general. He's an amazing dancer. He will never dance Kizomba. He's come a few times, so he'll come stand and watch. Never dance it. Why? it's just not my thing. But what do you mean it's not your thing? You've not tried it. Like, give it a try. I think it's just the fear of the fact that we need to lead, maybe. OK. That we need to lead the dance and then...

just overcoming that thing of I need to learn something new, potentially. But yeah, this mindset now, I can't understand it. I understand it. Again, me 20, I understand the 20, like as a 20 year old, I get it. Because at 20, I wasn't trying to do this sort of stuff. But you're older now. Yeah, exactly. Let's go. That's interesting.

So obviously you notice it at your event, but when you go around, you notice it the same. Is it less men as well? Yeah. Yeah. From what I've seen, there's been a few, maybe more of them, I've been to maybe a few like, PALOP events, which is not strictly Kizomba, whereby it's more even. But then one thing I've noticed there, and I was speaking to some of the PALOP guys about this over the last few weeks, yesterday as well, a lot of the guys don't dance.

Seyi (31:44.302)

They actually don't know how to dance Kizomba. All right. That's interesting. Yeah. I was talking about this with some of the guys yesterday and there was like, yeah, typically they don't dance. And I mean,  through Kizomba, I've made a lot of PALOP friends and I've noticed the girls are more likely to dance than the guys. Okay. I don't understand why. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well, it's a thing. I mean, I hope you can change it.

I guess actually, as I've been doing the lessons, I do see a lot of nervousness from guys that are coming fresh. Okay, yeah. And that's... So it's just, yeah, maybe their nervousness is just stopping them from going. So usually when I speak to people about Kizomba that I knew, like if I'm out and about, say for instance, when I'm on the way to the gym to do work or whatever, if I see a couple, I tell them I'll come to Kizomba, but I talk to the girl. Okay.

bring him. Yeah. That's what I usually try to do. Because I found women are usually more up for it than the guys are. It's really interesting to hear. Yeah. But I hope we can change it. Yeah. So guys, come down. Yeah. Ladies bring your guys. We need some, we need some fellas in there. Absolutely. Absolutely. I resonate a bit there about the nervousness though, I think just thinking back now to some of my earlier times when I first started as well, I remember trying to dance and she's kind of close as well, all that kind of stuff. And why are you so close to me? And I'm a guy, right? It's kind of weird. But yeah, so I get that nervousness. Yeah, that actually, the closeness of it is another element. I think we're living in the West. We're not used to physical contact in that way. In that way. And being so close to people without a sort of connotation or something attached to it. So sort of unlearning that sort of behaviour to a degree. And it's just like, yeah, it's just the...

Well, the thing is that it can be unlearned quickly. If you start it. You just have to jump in. No, that's cool. All right. So this is great. Thanks, Seyi  This is great. So what I want to find out from you is, you know, how does it feel then? How does it feel to you?

Victor (34:08.558)

to know that you are providing a great weekly event for people in the UK every week. So that responsibility is yours, really, and people are coming to your event and they're getting so much out of it. How does it feel?

It feels... It feels good. It feels, especially on the days I see people sort of come in heavy, leave light where I see people making new friends, where I see people just, when I see the impact it has on them, that's nice to see. I guess it's similar to the youth work I do and sort of seeing the impact I have on the young people. Yeah, that same sort of fulfilment to a degree, it's nice and it sort of makes it, I could be quite antisocial. So Tuesdays can be hard for me at certain times.

but it makes all of that just like, it's nice. I like seeing people enjoy, which is why I don't necessarily need to be involved in the enjoyment. So even when I have barbecues, and people always ask me when I have barbecues, I'm like, stop working, stop cooking, I'm enjoying myself. Watching you guys enjoy yourself is enjoyable for me. So yeah, there's that. Which is why oftentimes on a Tuesday I could just sit in my little corner just watching people and enjoy themselves and have fun.

That's good. That's good. So would you say you're more of an introvert? Yeah. People don't believe that, which I understand. If it's just even on a Tuesday, you wouldn't think so. But there's a reason why typically on a Wednesday no one hears from me. Okay. I thought you were covering. Yeah. On a Wednesday, you can call my phone. So it’s Wednesday today and thanks for coming down. You know what I mean? Yeah.

Yeah, I'm an introvert. Okay. I'm an introvert. But again, which is why I like Tuesdays though, because I can, I like hosting, I love meeting people, I do all that. But again, now once the party starts, I don't necessarily need to, as long as everyone's okay. Yeah. I could, you lot are okay. And that works for me. Yeah. It gives me the good balance. All right, cool. I can have my time to myself and also be around people.

Seyi  (36:31.918)

So I like to be around the enjoyment, not necessarily be involved in the enjoyment. But I could dip my toe in when I want. Cool. I think we need to get a menu in, be at one from you man, cook up some food there. Bring some food down there. This is now, the food element is the one thing I'm trying to bring involved in this. I'm a feeder. I love feeding people. So now if I could combine the Kizomba and the food, I'll be happy. Should get like a menu up there, you know, people can order food turning into a big thing. Well, anyways, just me talking. It's only the bar. If it wasn't for that venue, they're funny with food. Right. But hopefully this year I'm working on some stuff, which outside of Tuesdays, but will allow us to have food and Kizomba. Nice. So yeah, watch the space. Yeah. Fingers crossed it's coming soon.

Great combination. All right, so let's talk about then, you know, obviously we're here to talk about your event and that's great. But are there any other events that you like to go to? And obviously you've probably made some good connections, good friends, you know, doing this for a long time now. And obviously we have other events in London as well. So are there any other events that you like to go to outside of Chocolate? I like to go to Thursday's, the premiere event.

I like to go to O 'Neill's, whether that's on the Friday or the last Sunday,  when it's on. In terms of Kizomba, those are the ones that I usually go to. But that's more because I know the people that I like. So we've got a good relationship. And also the crowd, I like the crowd there. So they're usually the places I go to. But recently I've been traveling outside of London more, and I've really been enjoying that.

I've really been enjoying that. So I was in Birmingham this weekend, I go to Bristol a lot, for Emmanuel's event. And also I was, I've been to Bristol, I did Bristol's New Year's event. I was in Bristol for So we Kizz as well. And yeah, I'm really enjoying traveling around Manchester. I've been up one time to Manchester. I'm gonna do Manchester a bit more.

Seyi  (38:53.134)

So yeah, I do like going out every now and again, a bit more than now and again recently. I've been in my Kizomba bag recently. That's really good. Eddie, how are they different to the London scene or are they all just different in their own right? I'll say it's just different in their own right, hard to say. I guess maybe in the London scene, you're more likely to get a couple more PALOP people just because in London there's maybe more PALOPs but...

that changes now as you get more up north because I think there's a big PALOP community and like Leeds, Manchester sites. Okay. Peterborough. wow. Peterborough apparently has got a big PALOP scene. Not that I've been there. So yeah, I think in London I generally see a bit more pellet people. But other than that, there's not really... I think the Kizomba scene wherever you go, it's a social scene. So it does have a welcoming vibe Wherever you go, it's just the people that might change. And maybe in London, it's a bit, from what I've seen, more diverse in terms of age and demographic. So yeah, in London, especially Tuesdays, more so, I think. But yeah. I think.

I can speak on Tuesdays because obviously I'm seeing Tuesdays. But I think even outside of Tuesdays, there's more younger people coming into Kizomba. And when I've been outside of London, I don't know if I've seen that in the same way. But I could be wrong because I only go once every few months. So I could be wrong on that. But that's just as an outside perspective.

No, cool. All right. So obviously spreading the joy because I'm about all around the UK, which is good. So let's big up our people in London just because obviously we're based in London. So you mentioned Mira Kikola so usually on a Thursday night. Lux Thursdays. Usually there. Currently Lux. Then you mentioned O 'Neill's. O 'Neill's that's with Izzy. That's every Friday. They've changed the name. I can't remember what they've changed the name to.

Seyi (41:14.19)

Also O 'Neill's last Sunday of the month, Adriana. Diversao with Manon. Rico's got his new event that opened up I think last week. I didn't get a chance to go to that, but that's one I'll go to. Syed's got his event on a Saturday. I think that's the last one, finding venues. Now the issue of venues is now another conversation. But yeah, they're big up to everyone who does the Kizomba, who's promoting Kizomba. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, and trying to spread the culture. Spread the joy of Kizomba to as many people as we can reach. And you know what, it's the music that will get people. Exactly. So my friend who was helping me out on the door, obviously he's been helping me out for maybe five months. Recently, he's been calling me up, Seyi, what's this song?

Okay. And he's trying to sing the song to me with the phone. It's like, okay, you're starting now. Yeah. It hooks in. Once the hooks are in, then we'll reel you in. Yes. So yeah, it's the music. music Cool. So that's UK. Have you been to any festivals? That's something I want to start doing this year. The one I really want to go to next is where I wanted to go last year. I think it's called Toriso. That's in France, 40 years, I believe. I'm likely to do that in April. But I've not really been to many, you know. It's something I would like to do more of. Main reason is when I travel, I'm a bit of a. Wanderer. Okay. Yeah. I'm just not necessarily trying to go to one place and just stay in one place and dance. Yeah. If I'm going somewhere, I want to see the culture. I want to see different places. So I'm exploring. Yeah. That's usually that's typically why I've not been but this year as I'm trying to push the dance more, I know I need to be around the dance more. Yeah. So I have to say festivals are great just for getting a different scene out of London.

Seyi(43:33.551)

But what you find as well is that you probably see quite a few people from here at those festivals as well. It's not a bad thing, but you can see some familiar faces. But yeah, no, you get a lot of different dances as well, and it just makes you a little bit richer as well. So yeah, definitely. To be honest, I've noticed that even leaving London and just being in other places in the UK, you always see a few Londoners. But it is nice to see people that you don't see all the time. It's nice to see people that you don't get to dance with all the time.

Yeah, so I can see that for sure. Yeah, I look forward to experiencing that now outside of the UK. Yeah, no, absolutely. Definitely. Okay. No, good. Good luck with that.

So how then has, I mean, we are talking about it now, but I just want you to articulate it in your words. How has Kizomba impacted your life directly? What would you say?

Seyi (44:31.719)

So you've made some good friends? Yeah, I made some really good friends. I've loved experiencing the PALOP  culture. So even from things in terms of food, being around some of my friends and their family parties and whatnot, it's just nice.

I'm now learning Portuguese. Same here. It's got reasons to learn. How are you finding that? Difficult. Yeah, difficult. I do wish I had studied languages properly from a younger age, but it's difficult. But recently I've had some extra motivation to learn Portuguese. House, would I say, has impacted me. It's even getting me out of my comfort zone to dance it in the first place. Because again, I'm not a dancer.

Like I love the music. I love the dance, but again, because I'm not a dancer, it's like, it does get certain times I have to sort of work myself up to it. How else would I say it's impacted me? I've been able to just connect with a wide variety of people. Obviously I'm meeting people every week. I'm seeing people every week.

people there that I've known for 10, 15 years that I never would have come across. And also I think just because the scene is thankfully, I assume Tuesday is good people there, like some real cool people. So for instance, let's say like Quinton, like known this guy for ages. It's only since I started running Tuesday that we actually started talking. So just who's Quinton?

another one of the Kizomba dancers in the scene, always dancing, always on that dance floor. But yeah, we found out like maybe six months ago, we both share love for combat sports. So it's like, it's just nice to be able to connect with different people. And it has made me stop being antisocial to a degree, because I have to, certain times come out of myself to talk.

Victor (46:48.271)

Yeah. All good things. Yeah, that's interesting. Because, you know, like I said, we're trying to find out a bit about you and not necessarily a lot of people know that you are an anti -social Don't come across that way. So, you know, I'm learning as well that you're an introvert. Same as me. Snap. I'm learning that you're not an actual dancer. Same as me. Snap. All right. And again. That's surprising for you because you dance so well, you know. No, no, no, no. No. Lots to learn. Lots to learn, man. I don't think I'm a good dancer by any stretch of the imagination. But,

Yeah, so we share that in common. And I think this has definitely brought me out of my shell as well. I mean, I dance a lot. I know you know that because you see me dance a lot, right? But I don't necessarily think that I'm a good dancer. So I think I'm dancing a lot to try and just try it, man. Do you know what I mean? But yeah, I think I've touched every part of your dance floor on Tuesday throughout the years, man. I think so. Walking around.

No, but cool. And listen, thanks for sharing. Thanks for sharing. So what about some of the, because obviously you're running a night. Yeah, you're running a night. So you're meeting, you know, promoters, DJs, you know. So how's your relationships with those kinds of people, artists maybe, if you've built some connections in that space? Yeah. I mean, I could, I would...

I'd most probably meet more people if I was more of an extrovert to a degree. But again, where my nature is, I'll speak to you if you speak to me. And that's my nature everywhere. So because of that, there's a lot of people that maybe I've been in the same facility as, but I've never spoken to or whatever. But those that I do speak to, the other organizers, the DJs, anyone I'm introduced to, it's a really nice relationship.

Even when I was in Birmingham this weekend, I met some of the guys from Manchester, that dance up in Manchester, some PALOP guys. And it's, yeah, just being able to speak to them about their views on the scene and whatnot is really nice. And I think where we all have, all the people I have in mind, we all have a similar vision in terms of wanting to promote Kizomba and wanting to make sure that it stays true to its roots.

Seyi (49:18.287)

I've got a good relationship with anyone that has that and I've spoken to. I wouldn't say I've got a bad relationship with anyone because there's no need to. Not here, not in this game. So yeah, just positive relationships. And it's been nice. And I think down the line, hopefully collaborations and stuff and anything that will just help to make the scene bigger. Yeah, absolutely.

I think that collaboration piece is definitely, definitely big. So yeah, let's keep doing that. Okay. So I know that Chocolate, you've got an active WhatsApp group. Yes. Yeah. So there's some people on there and obviously - I could be more active in person. But I know, you know, and obviously I see the messages that come on those as well. And usually, it's usually saying great night, great DJ, great music. I'll mash up all this kind of stuff. All that kind of stuff. So in terms of that I guess what I'm trying to say is here you have your regular people that come. Yeah. So, you know, what's some of the general feedback that you get from your regular, you know, people that come to the event?

I'll say that they just like space and energy. I think they like the energy of it. I think energy is the biggest thing. And it's that homely feeling that comes because it feels like you're around family. So I think that's probably the most feedback I hear.

Seyi (51:00.271)

Apart from that, it's just, I mean, everyone's got a bit like some people have DJs they like, some people have DJs like, not DJs they like and don't like, they have like, some people like more Semba, some people like more Kizomba, some people like more Ghetto Zouk. So it's like finding a balance in everything is difficult, but It's manageable. Yeah, yeah. It's manageable. It's manageable. And I mean, and on the whole, you know, like I say, when I read those messages, everybody's always positive and having a good time and just like, you know, when's Tuesday coming again? I'm like, people come. That's what I see anyway. But you mentioned people have their preferences. Yeah. So what's yours? What do you like? Do you like Kizomba, Semba, Tarraxinha, Zouk? I like Kizomba and Semba. I like the step in Passada. I like the way people step more so than anything. For me and Tarraxinha, same reason why I could be a bit funny when it comes to the Zouk they dance here and I don't dance things like central Bachata because it's too much for me to just do with anyone. I'm a very tactile person by nature, funnily enough. But I'm like a cat, I'm tactile on my terms.

If you're not someone, then don't touch me. So yeah, I personally prefer Semba and Kizomba, even in terms of listening to the music. The music, any. But dancing and moving my body, yeah, Semba, Kizomba. Yeah, I mean, there's a lot of energy in Semba, isn't it? Yeah. And obviously fast Kizomba as well, so. Yeah, and I totally, totally get that. Okay, so that's what's gonna get you up on the dance floor most of the time. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Something whereby I can really step. Yeah. And I like to play music. So yeah, that's, that's the stuff for me for sure. Cool. Cool. Cool. Do you have any, you know, I mean, how often do you listen to Kizomba outside of Tuesdays? You know, are you out and about listening to it? Is it in your car? It'll be in my car at certain times.

(53:15.503)

If I'm at home and I just fancy a little dance in the mirror, I'll dash it on. But usually when it comes to me and music, I put my Spotify and shuffle. Yeah. And just whatever comes on, whatever comes on. So I could be on Backstreet Boys once it gets on by some reggae then. Yeah. But yeah, I definitely have my mood to it, but I'm ready to dance. Yeah. 100%. Okay. 100%. Okay. Are there any like tracks that you maybe a couple of tracks that you can say to us that you know that you like really like just in terms of his voice as an artist filo de zoa filo de zoa okay yeah like he's got a few songs actually like i posted one on the chocolate instagram and he responded i was like you responded okay i was like cool crazy cool so yeah he's got a few quite a few that i really like

There was one guy from years ago, I don't know if he's released anything recently, but Kalisto Forera. Kalisto Forera. He had a few songs as well that I really like. And again, both of them have voices which to me are quite distinct. So I like people with it, something just, yeah, distinct about their voices. These, these Kizomba  or Semba or they? So just from what I understand, I feel like we'll do a bit of both. Kalisafreda? The album I've got on my phone is a Kizomba album. But I've not listened to the whole, I guess I'm not knowledgeable enough to say that with any authority. Who else is there that I like?

there's more. More? Yeah, no. Just wanted a couple so it's all good. Yeah. You know what I mean? If anything, those who come to mind like off, off riff. Yeah. Okay, people, so you can Google those. Check out the music. Yeah. Check out the music is one thing I say when it comes to Kizomba. So one of the things I'm going to start doing to help bring people into Kizomba is just sharing music. Okay. Like on the socials and whatnot. Just getting people that, yeah, that haven't heard the music. Cause more often than not, if, if I've

Seyi (55:32.111)

like posted something people will hear and be like, I like this song. Even my cousin who's a producer, I used to like, we used to live together. So I play music loud quite often. Send me this song, which is like, he's hearing it and just liking it. It's got such an appeal to music. Such an appeal, even if you don't understand Portuguese or don't understand what's being said, it's like, it's just, it resonates. Absolutely. Absolutely. So you're a music lover then, so all different genres that you play. Okay.

Cool. All right, so in terms of Chocolate Tuesdays then, what are your plans then for the future? Where do you want to take it next? I would like to, sort of food and dance is the next big one for me. I would like to maybe branch out into something which maybe involves traveling trips for the community. So anything to create more of a community. Yeah. As a community, cool. Let's go somewhere. Yeah. And we're dancing and we're doing things like this. So more community experiences. I think, and again, just because I feel like community is one of the big draws for chocolate these days. There is a nice, nice community there. And not to say that everyone's one big community, people have their own little. Yeah.

pockets of people, whatever it may be, that's fine. But that's it. So it's to promote more of that. I would like to maybe try to bring like when it comes to festivals, Chocolate Kizomba goes to wherever. It's things like that. Yeah, that would be the next one for me. Yeah. Yeah. So that'd be great. And keep. Yeah, just keep growing Tuesdays. Keep doing what we can to help.

to bring new people into Kizomba and help them to learn the dance. So promoting workshops, things like this. I think the main focus right now is to attract new people and get new people to dance well. And from what I hear, not again, not that, cause I've not been, but I hear that when it comes to Kizomba, like globally people from the UK don't have a great reputation for the quality of dance. Okay. From what I understand, that's what people are telling me. So if that's the case, I'm trying to change that. Okay. I'm trying to change that. Yeah. Okay. Interesting. From what I hear. Don't treat the messenger. No. Okay. Well, I mean, and this is the thing, that's what I was saying. You know, if you go to festivals, you experience a different...

level of dancers and so it's always good to go and try and just you know the thing is we're always trying this is what I'm saying this is why I'm trying to get better all the time yeah you know I mean just just keep on just keep on pushing it like like when I think of someone who who sort of embodies that Charlie Charlie yes okay so he's a Kizomba teacher dancer you see him all the time he's always wearing a suit when he says long it goes his hair sort of goes ginger blonde okay

yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay. So for instance, I know Charlie travels quite a bit to dance and he's just always dancing. Yes. And his Kizomba is really good. Very, very, very, very good. Yeah. Really good. Very good. I don't know what you mean. Yeah. Yeah. I've met some good people in Kizomba. Yeah. I love Charles. Yeah. Yeah.

Charlie, we're going to get you on a show at some point. Yeah. Absolutely. Okay. Yeah. No, absolutely. That is so. All right, so that's cool. So that's some of the plans and those plans sound really good. I mean, if you can do those events, you know, I think you're going to get a lot of people. The food one for me is the next big one. Food one. Cause also I would like to kind of want people to taste my food. I want to taste it. I kind of want people to taste it. If I could run a barbecue. You've put that out there now man. Yeah. Cause I've been working on a few recipes for Down the Line.

something else and yeah I want to, I want people to eat. So you, so obviously the weather that we get in this country, so obviously it's the summer we do the barbecue so is it like every June, every August you have it or? Yeah usually yeah August, June, August I do it. So when I was living in the east we did a few even when I was like back in my parents I'd have little barbecues. And is it a mixture of music or is it just because on Broadway you just do a mix of music there? So

Seyi (01:00:23.279)

When I've done these barbecues, because therefore my friends aren't into Kizomba. So yeah, it's just a mix of music. But I will do a Kizomba thing. You do Kizomba barbecue? That's the space. Yeah. That would be good. That would be amazing. We're holding you to that, man. You know, I actually might have found a venue for it. Like somewhere we could do it. Wicked.

The only thing is when it comes to locations, I know it's in Northwest. Okay. So I have people from South London. Same way, I don't like going to South. Yeah. I know people from South, we're at Northwest. It's a bit far. Come on guys, come and just party. Enjoy it. Cool. Well, we're looking forward to that. We're looking forward to that. So one thing I want to ask you though, is about DJs. So it's just a question I'm just curious about. So obviously,

every week we have different DJs. Some weeks you might have them repeat it or whatever. But I'm just curious to think about how you make, is there a rota for DJs or how do you, what necessarily happens is just off the cuff or? I should get better with making it a rota, if I'm being honest. But I've not had a rota, it's sort of like, just as we speak, it's like, can you come, can you come? But what it's led to is like, for instance, it's been a while since certain DJs have -

I've come because I've not been organized with it. But then if someone messages me, like, I want to play a black call, this is free. But I will get better. We're doing a rotor. It can be hard at times because people at the same time, I'm hearing from people, I want this guy, I want this guy, I want this guy from every angle. It's like, what do we do? Yeah. But it's I guess there's maybe a set of like seven, eight DJs. Let's just rotate them. I need to get better at organizing that. Okay. Yeah. No, just a question. I was just curious. But all right. So with that then, have you ever felt the pressure? yeah. It's like, okay, Tuesday's coming up. I haven't got a DJ. I mean, I've never not had a DJ. Okay, cool. I've always had a DJ ready. But like there's definitely pressure when it comes to, yeah, keeping the crowd happy, keeping DJs happy, keeping teachers happy. Because people want to...

Seyi (01:02:46.639)

they want to come and teach, they want to come and DJ, they want to do whatever. But again, there's so many people that DJ that teach. So getting everybody in at times can be a bit like, and especially because again, my organization of it isn't a strict rota. So yeah, a bit of pressure. Yeah. Okay. Cool. Well, look, whoever shows up, you always have a good time. So it's all good. I was actually thinking of learning how to DJ myself. yeah?

And then I was like, no way. I feel sorry for DJs because they've got so much pressure on them. So yeah, I was like, no, I'm not going to do it. They do. It'll be another string to your bow from the cooking and the moot eye and everything else. Yeah, for now anyway. All right, cool. Cool. And then I think you touched on it already, but are there any upcoming events or anything you're planning coming up in the future?

that you can share with us? I can share.

Seyi (01:03:52.591)

Only the barbecue. That's the, yeah, the barbecue is one I want to share anything else apart from that. until it's more solid, I'll keep quiet, but yeah, the barbecue looks like it's happening this year. Okay. I tried to make it happen last year. I couldn't, couldn't really work it. Also not having long summers doesn't help. Yeah. Tell me about it. but yeah, this year it's, the barbecue should run. Yeah.

All right, so we're looking forward to that. The way I would like to do it is it won't just be me cooking, there'll obviously be my food, but then there'll be some like, PALOP food there as well. So there'll be food from different cultures. Because if I'm cooking, it's going to be a mix of Jamaican and Nigerian food. So yeah, it will be a mix of stuff. Nice, nice. Anything else apart from that?

Tuesdays, more workshops will be coming. So for those of you that are new to Kizomba and want to learn, we'll have some stuff for you.

Yeah, that's it. Yeah. Cool. Nice sounds. Actually doing more stuff like, we've had recently one of, a boxer he's been coming to, to Kizomba. One of the things I would like to do is see if I can get more fighters to come down. And again, just cause training myself, I, I'm there's a good link between them, like fighting and dancing. Big link when it comes to like posture, like, but it's the same thing in terms of similar things in terms of body movement and body mechanics. So I would like to try and get more people from that sort of world into Kizomba. But it's funny, there's a lot of them, a lot of fighters into Bachata. A lot of them. But yeah, I'd like to see some more coming to Kizomba. You're gonna bring them in, get their hips moving. Hopefully. Yeah. No, good. So we look forward to that as well, man. We look forward to that. Where can...

Victor (01:05:51.759)

people find out about you, if they want to get. Instagram, chocolate Kizomba or my personal Instagram is Mr. Sey Sey. How else apart from that?

Victor (01:06:13.327)

Facebook, I think is the same  mr.seysey Chocolate Kizomba. The website is chocolate Kizomba .com. I think my number's on there, do not WhatsApp me, so I won't respond. Call me. Yeah, that's the best way. I tell people all the time, if you're going to get in contact with me, do not WhatsApp me. Like, call me or iMessage me. Call me, really. I could be really anti -phone. I'm anti -WhatsApp Okay. But yeah, phone in general is... I hear that. Well, you heard that. You heard that, people. Yeah. Okay. Well, listen, Seyi, listen, thank you. It's been great to have you here. It's been great, obviously, learning about you, about the night that is just solid in London. Anybody coming to the UK that loves Kizomba, you need to go there on a Tuesday. You just got to do it, right? So be at one, Registry. You got to go there.

lessons from 7:45 until 10. And the party from 10 until, I'd like to say 1:30. I get bullied every week. Every week. Every week. I'm like, no, just another half an hour, another hour. I'm like, guys, please. Be ready for work the next day, man. I'm tired. And then the DJs don't help. These guys will just be, yeah. Keep going. Keep going. Lights on. They're still DJing. I was dancing last night.

the person I was dancing with is like, what's the time? And we both look at our watches like, God damn, really? It's like, wow, because you don't stay that late normally. The amount of times people as well will be like, I'm going home now. Half an hour later, they're still just enjoying themselves. It's like, yeah, yeah. Exactly. It's nice. Then I have to go home and explain to my wife I'm getting home so late in the middle of the week. But hey, it's all for the love of Kizomba, right? Honestly. It's all good. Listen, Seyi, before we let you go, we're going to have a little bit of fun, if that's all right.

Just some random questions that we like to play on this. And the way it goes is we have four cards here. And just wanting to pick a card, read the question and answer it. And then the last one that's left, I get to answer it. Yeah. God damn. If you were a Kizomba DJ, what would your DJ name be and why? A bit of a hard one.

Seyi (01:08:38.415)

Yeah. Put that on the spot. I want to say DJ She She, but that sounds boring. But it doesn't actually. Sounds alright. DJ She She B, DJ She She. Well, it's probably that. Yeah? Yeah. Nah, I need to think of something else. Well, that's cool for now. I mean, being put on the spot. I think DJ She She's alright. It might be something... If I could find a way to play with...

like my Nigerian Jamaican heritage in it then maybe I would a smart way to do that I might do that. yeah DJ Shasha. Yeah that's cool that's cool that's cool bro that's cool good that's all good so next one. I like this if you could create a Dream Kizomba event what elements would it include to make it a unique and unforgettable experience for the attendees?

Victor (01:09:39.263)

it would have food. Yes. Number one. It would have, yes, food, dance, but then apart from like a dance space, it would also have space for just a quiet space for just like cool, we want to chill now, chilled vibe. There would also be

it wouldn't be in the UK. It'd be somewhere nice and hot. Maybe a little pool. Yes, yes. Big pool. I think also there would be an element of, because we actually, yeah, there'd be an element of culture to it in terms of teaching people about the culture and whatnot. So I was actually quite lucky that Chocolate Kizomba was part of

a loose phone event at the Africa Center. And what we did then is I got Desi who's a musician and you would have seen him from back in the day. And again, I got to meet him through Kizomba. Him and a guy called Sheriff who is a big part of the Kizomba music scene. They did a talk about the history of Kizomba and whatnot. Beautiful. And it was amazing. Yeah. So I'll do something like that.

Excellent. It would have that, it would have food, it would have dance, and it would have just a space for people to socialize. Yeah. Because yeah, it was really nice to just learn more about the culture. Yeah. Learn more about the history of things. Absolutely. And from people that are integral to it. 100%. So yeah, that would be, I think things like that would make it unforgettable.

good food, good people, good music, and then you get to learn something as well. So you're like, you're hitting all the elements, your physical element, your mental element, everything that's being catered for. That sounds like an amazing event. I'll definitely be there. So whenever you're ready to sort that out, man, that's nice. So that's the one I'm trying. I'm trying that one. Definitely. Cool, cool. All right, last two.

Victor (01:12:02.695)

What is the most embarrassing moment you've had in the dance floor? I don't think I've had any, you know. I've had anything embarrassing happen to me on the dance floor. I've been quite lucky. No, I've not had any. All right, well, let's change the question then. Let me answer that one and you answer this one. All right, cool. Make it a bit different. If you could dance Kizomba anywhere in the world, where would your dream dance location be on Angola?

Okay, just straight to that. Yeah, just it would be nice to like certain times. It's nice when I dance with people, especially like PALOP people and they think I'm PALOP. Yeah, that's a compliment man. If they ever ask, you're PALOP? And I'm like no I'm Nigerian, you dance well. Like that's nice to hear. So if I can go to Angola and people will be like you dance well, then they're like cool I've done it now, I've got my strides. Yeah, yeah, 100%. So yeah, I've...

I'm still looking for them stripes. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That would be it. That would be it. Angola, we love your dance and we're grateful for it. So, Angola. All the PALOP countries, because say for instance, like we were talking about Jamal, he's from Satomé and Prisipé. The way he dances, I love the way he dances. So if I go any, I just do a tour. Yeah. And just dance and then, yeah, pick up all I can. And then by the end of it, people will be like, yeah, this guy. Listen, you'll be put through your training. I think we have Meusemba on the...

podcast and he was talking about the fact that when he goes to Angola, if you think you're a good dancer from here, he said, just forget that. That will just teach you about who you are. So yeah, that'd be some intensive training. I would love to get over there myself. I can't wait to do it. I think I might even go this December, to be fair. Yeah. Well, yeah, that would be nice. It'd be great. I'd be very intimidated though. Yeah. He was this guy. But anyway. Yes.

So your question then, what is the most embarrassing moment you've had on the dance floor? So it's been a few, but I remember one. man. So dancing and I think we were doing Semba, but I lifted my arm up or did some sort of move. I literally hit the lady in the head. Literally hit her in the head. And it was quite hard. And I was close to the DJ and he was, he saw it. He was just cracking.

Victor (01:14:29.903)

I'm like, the girl just got hit in the head, why you cracking up? But it was funny. Even she was laughing, but she was in pain as well. But yeah, I think that was the most embarrassing one for me. Had to just say sorry for that kind of stuff. But there's been others, but that's the one that comes to mind. It happens, right? I think the only thing that would find embarrassing is if I fell, if we as a couple dancing fell. That would be the only thing I'd be like, God damn. But apart from that, yeah, now I've been...

I understand that though. But it's hard, especially when we're dancing this space. That's the thing, right? Yeah, you would do something and then yeah, but she was great, great sport with it. So thank you. You know what I mean? mean? yeah, well listen,, Seyi, thank you so much for coming down. I know you were tired from last night as well, but thank you for joining us. And you know, maybe in the future we can have you back on, see how things are developed with Chocolate Kizomba and just some of these projects that you were  talking about as well. But you know, seriously, you know, you'll keep doing what you're doing. We never want to see that go away. It's our Tuesday fix and people love it. We love going there on a weekly basis to get our medicine. You know what I mean? So thank you for everything that you're doing. Yeah. And thanks for coming down. Appreciate it. Yeah, 100%. Everyone that comes on Tuesdays, appreciate you guys a lot. I don't say enough, but thank you guys. You guys always come with good energy.

Thank you to the DJs. Thank you to the teachers. Thank you to the other organizers. Yeah, appreciate the scene. Absolutely. Yeah, cool. So everyone, thank you very much as always for tuning in. Please let us know what you thought of the episode. Like, comment, subscribe, and also tell us who you'd like us to see on the podcast as well. So as always, we are signing out and as we always say, keep dancing.

and we'll see you on the dance floor. Peace.