Dine and dance with Progressive Entertainment
If you ever get a chance to talk with Irvin Smith, of Progressive Entertainment, don’t ask him about his parties. Progressive Entertainment (PE) do not organise parties, they put together lifestyle events: packages structured to entertain you, either with a live performance (as with Poetry n Motion) or dinner (Spanish Harlem) always followed by a party. This concept originates from the States. Irvin, originally from Virginia, observes that back in 2003/2004 “there was no real vibrant spot here in London for young professionals. If there was something, you had to be a member – it’s when the member club thing was starting. You couldn’t get in unless you were a member. Then you wait in line, you pay a lot of money to go in and then you had no vibe. So we started doing something that had been going on in the StateS for years, something called First Fridays.”
The first Progressive Entertainment night was held at bar/restaurant Manjaro’s in North London. Success quickly followed. Five years on, PE is still going on strong, despite the recession that forced some promoters out of the business. To fight off the credit crunch blues, PE decided to diversify and create more events, each following the bulletpoof formula of entertainment and after-party but offering a new experience: comedy with Funny Business at Cottons, which is an after work mixer with laughs provided by the big names of Black British (Richard Blackwood) and US comedy (Willie Robo); while Think Blu delivered live jazz in the plush surroundings of No 10 in West London.
The last three Progressive Entertainment New Year’s Eve parties were packed and this year should be no different. A mixed crowd of “Americans, Trinidadians and Londoners” will dance the year away to “party music, from funky house to old school r&b and the hottest thing Jay-Z is coming up with”. On other floors there will be soca for a good part of the night and also zouk, the more chilled-out genre from the French West Indies. Mr Smith will be at the door most of the night, to ensure that everyone is having fun. It may not sound like rocket science, but for PE, it’s all about customer satisfaction: “If people leave my event and go and recommend it to their friends, then I’ve done my job”.
Pics © Jerry Barnett
Taken on location at Grace Bar, W1
Details of Progressive Entertainment’s NYE Party + WIN A PAIR OF TICKETS TO THE PARTY
Progressive Entertainment website
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