“We celebrate self-love, body positivity and just coming as you are to feel the most confident version of yourself through dance,” says Bami Kuteyi, the founder of Twerk After Work, an inclusive dance community based in London.
Regardless of your dance ability, the class welcomes everyone. It’s not about nailing the routine but leaving better than when you arrived.
“If you can’t twerk or you haven’t twerked before, you’ll never feel stupid,” she says. “We just want you to have a good time and feel good about yourself.”
Playing a mix of Reggaeton, Dancehall and Afrobeats, the class has a distinctive feel-good energy. “You can’t really describe it,” says Bami. “You just have to be there.”
It’s no wonder word-of-mouth helped Twerk After Work grow its cult following, she says, having steadily built up a loyal online following–17K on the Twerk After Work Instagram page and 19K on her personal account.
“We just want you to have a good time and feel good about yourself.”
Bami has taught classes across the world, with a network of certified Twerk After Work instructors from Accra to Amsterdam to keep up with global demand.
She started her career working in tech, but, after teaching popular dance classes to colleagues on her lunch break, she “took a leap of faith” to take her business to the next level. “That’s when I thought, ‘Hey, actually, I can get paid for this’,” she says.
It was the lack of diversity, focus on aesthetics and exclusive nature of the fitness industry that spurred Bami on to create something new and refreshing.
Recalling her experience of adult ballet classes, she says: “I’d usually be one of the only ones who looks like me, with my body type which doesn’t always fit the mould of what a ballet dancer should look like.”
“I just wanted to create a gym space that was a bit more inclusive.”
She knew she wanted to make Twerk After Work a safe space that felt accessible. “[With twerking] you don’t need to buy ballet shoes, you don’t have to be part of this elitist community to be able to shake a little something,” she says. “I just wanted to create a gym space that was a bit more inclusive.”
Bami wants her attendees to leave worries from work and home at the door. Her aim is for people to feel confident, self-assured and relaxed.
“We wrap up the classes with affirmations and self-love and touching your body in ways that you wouldn’t usually, which can ignite some emotions: crying, tears and realisations.”
It’s not just the class content that is designed to be a safe space, but certain carefully-chosen locations too. South London’s Prince of Peckham Pub is meaningful to Bami due to its cultural significance.
“I don’t know any other Black-owned pubs anywhere in the world,” she says. “I love the way they make it about community, with the different DJs who come in and even the charity events they hold. I feel they are keeping the grassroots community and it feels like activism in a way.”
“Make your blackness your superpower.”
Bami has hosted hundreds of events through Eventbrite, from classes to workshops, both online and in person. The platform facilitated Twerk After Work’s global expansion. “Eventbrite allowed me to have multiple currencies and host events in different places. It made it really easy for me,” she says.
But she also credits the platform for being easy-to-use and accessible for those new to event planning: “Eventbrite has helped so much because when I started, I didn’t have a website and I didn’t know anything about payment processing systems.”
Her advice for upcoming event planners is to just get started. “I always say start now and start small, start where you are and don’t overthink it.”
Bami has mentored many Black founders starting out in business. Her advice? Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and make yourself the face of the brand.
“Make your blackness your superpower,” she says. “People want to support black-owned, female-led, queer-owned [businesses]. Make it blackity, black, black, black.”
As for future plans? Bami wants to continue to grow Twerk After Work and “keep spreading the good word in making the world a better place—one twerk at a time.”
