Brown Suga - Black History Month Party 2023

Overview

BROWN SUGA // Black History Month Party // Breaking Barriers 🔥🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Powered by Moonlight Experiences X The Common Press X The Blacker The Berry Project. ➡️ 21st October @ 7:30 pm-1 am | Common Counter, 118 Bethnal Green Road, London E2 6DG Celebrate Black History Month this October, led and curated by queer Black and POC folx! Let's come together to unite, support, and unapologetically celebrate who we are. We thrive on the joy of nightlife while also delving deep into our queer Black history with inspiring voices that uplift our community. Join us early at 7:30 pm to discover how we can collectively break barriers and fortify our resilience as a community with some special guests in Fashion, Ballroom, Music, and Activism. We are also collaborating with The Blacker The Berry Project - a collective from Lisbon! The night will be filled with a masterclass voguing workshop by Bronze West from 8:45 pm, an intro to Kizomba dance class from 10 pm, special performances, and talented DJs. We have been cultivating a good vibes-only and welcoming environment where folx can connect, mobilize, and nurture relationships. This evening provides the need for more spaces for QTIPOC, queer women, non-binary and trans folx. Whether you are arriving with friends, partner(s), or turning up solo. You are invited to our mixer hosted by our friendly team where you can meet some new people. Limited free tickets are available (for those who need it). 💙£7 Black + POC Tickets (party only + Kizomba class) 💙£10 Non-QTIPOC Tickets (party only + Kizomba class) 💙£12 Voguing workshop or Kizomba + Party 💙£15 On the door for Party (Spaces limited) 💙£20 on the door for voguing workshop + Kizomba + Party (Spaces Limited) *Free Kizomba dance class is subject to first come first serve* 🦄Dance the night away with incredible QTIPOC DJs or be surrounded by queer books and hang out at The Common Press. 🔥Non-stop Disco, R&B, Hip-Hop, Afrobeats, Afro-Latin, Dancehall & Soca. DJs X special guests🔥 💡 Dance party 🔥 Djs 📚 Queer bookshop + Free Queer Kizomba Dance Class + Voguing Masterclass + Special performances

Highlights

Free Kizomba Class with The Blacker The Berry Project (10pm - 11pm)

Come and try Kizomba, a free class suitable for seasoned dancers or those who have never tried Kizomba before. This workshop is perfect for you to immerse yourself in the beautiful rhythms and sensual moves of this Angolan dance style. Dance class by The Blacker The Berry Project

DJ HRBL T

HRBL T brings fresh and eclectic sounds to the DJ scene. With a diverse background in performance, production, and live art, their musical journey is a fusion of creativity and innovation. Known for their bass-heavy beats and a penchant for blending genres, HRBL T invites audiences to embark on a sonic adventure like no other. The mission is clear: to inspire you to lose yourself in the music, to move your waist and shake a leg. Whether it's a dark, underground club or an open-air festival, HRBL T’s sets are designed to make you dance, feel and escape into a world of bass-driven euphoria.

XĪLHU

XīLHU Queer Rave Soundsystem founder, builder, sound engineer, DJ and Activist. Queer Rave has made history as being the one of the BLACK/POC-LED Jungle/DNB Sound-system in the UK, diversifying the sound-system and rave scene. XĪLHU alchemizes pan-cultural ancestral powers, redefining revolution, destroying boundaries between genres with influence from decolonial protests to create unified space blending wisdom from the NÜ and ỌLD.

The Blacker The Berry Project

We are collaborating with TBTB collective from Lisbon to London. The Blacker The Berry Project is a youth-led Black queer creative collective amplifying, highlighting and showcasing the underrepresented voices of artists living in Africa, the Caribbean, South and Latin America, and across the Diaspora through creative intervention such as events like art exhibitions, club nights, residencies, talks, workshops, as well as a pioneering retreat in collaboration with Vale de Moses, mentioned on GAY Times.

Moonlight Experiences Team

The night will be hosted by Moonlight Experiences. An award-winning queer events and travel company dedicated to the celebration of diverse LGBTQ+ culture whilst uplifting marginalised voices.

Joy Julius (Speaker) @ 8pm - 8:30 pm

Joy Julius, is a Nigerian-Swiss designer based in London. She graduated from Kingston University. She was the winner of the first FACE Excellence award. Joy has just launched her eponymous brand, JOY JULIUS. The brand draws inspiration from both her Nigerian heritage and western experiences and influences. The brand explores masculinity within different genders and features a modern and minimalist aesthetic using high quality materials. The result is a fusion of traditional and modern styles that celebrates the diversity of self-expression. “I am excited to share my designs with the world. I believe that fashion is a powerful tool for self-expression, and I want my designs to empower people to feel confident and comfortable in their own skin, regardless of their gender identities.” The newest collection is available online at JOYJULIUS.CO.UK and instagram @joyjulius__

Voguing Masterclass with Bronze West (8:45 pm - 9:30 pm )

Masterclass to learn the history, culture and art of voguing. Voguing is a dance-based art form that is just one part of Ballroom - a culture that grew from the Black and Latinx LGBTQ+ communities in prisons and the Harlem drag ball scene.

Bronze West (Speaker) @ 8pm - 8:30 pm

Bronze is a movement artist and broccoli enthusiast, who has become recognised internationally for their unique & classic style of Pop Dip & Spin (aka. Old Way Vogue), since finding London's Ballroom community in 2015. They have been a driving force in making the UK Ball scene more accessible to QTBIPOC; and when not serving poses (or veg), they can be found hosting QTBIPOC-centered community events & Voguing workshops, inc. @voguerites - London's first and only weekly ballroom night

Bookshop / hangout zone

Head into the intersectional bookshop 'The Common Press' for some space to hangout.

Jesualdo Lopes (DJ & Speaker ) @ 8pm - 8:30pm

Jesualdo Lopes, son of Bissau-Guinean immigrants, born in Lisbon and raised in the municipality of Odivelas, is a filmmaker, curator, founder and creative director of The Blacker The Berry Project, a collective that aims to celebrate Black queer artists residing in the Diaspora, in Africa, in Caribbean and Latin America, having collaborated with more than 100+ creatives since 2021 in cultural events, parties, fanzines and the pioneering retreat 'The Blacker The Moses' in Castelo Branco, reported on GAY Times. With a BA (Hons) Filmmaking degree from Leeds Beckett University, Jesualdo aims to elevate marginalised voices through his work, creating safe and intentional environments mainly for the Black, young and diasporic community nationally and beyond borders.