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“When you speak about the legendary singer in South Africa, it’s akin to referring about a sovereign,” remarks Alesandra Seutin. Called the Empress of African Song, the iconic artist also associated in Greenwich Village with jazz greats like prominent artists. Starting as a teenager sent to work to support her family in the city, she later served as an envoy for Ghana, then the country’s representative to the UN. An outspoken campaigner against segregation, she was married to a Black Panther. This rich life and legacy inspire the choreographer’s latest work, Mimi’s Shebeen, set for its British debut.

The Blend of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

Mimi’s Shebeen merges dance, instrumental performances, and oral storytelling in a theatrical piece that isn’t a straightforward biodrama but draws on her past, especially her experience of banishment: after moving to New York in the year, Makeba was prohibited from her homeland for three decades due to her anti-apartheid stance. Later, she was banned from the United States after marrying Black Panther activist her spouse. The show is like a ceremonial tribute, a reimagined memorial – part eulogy, part celebration, part provocation – with the exceptional South African singer the performer leading bringing Makeba’s songs to vibrant life.

Strength and elegance … the production.

In the country, a shebeen is an unofficial venue for locally made drinks and animated discussions, usually presided over by a host. Makeba’s mother Christina was a proprietress who was detained for illegally brewing alcohol when Miriam was a newborn. Incapable of covering the penalty, Christina was incarcerated for six months, bringing her infant with her, which is how her eventful life began – just one of the details Seutin learned when researching her story. “Numerous tales!” says Seutin, when we meet in Brussels after a show. Her father is from Belgium and she mainly grew up there before relocating to learn and labor in the United Kingdom, where she founded her dance group Vocab Dance. Her parent would perform Makeba’s songs, such as the tunes, when she was a youngster, and move along in the living room.

Melodies of liberation … the artist performs at Wembley Stadium in the year.

A decade ago, Seutin’s mother had cancer and was in medical care in London. “I paused my career for a quarter to look after her and she was constantly asking for the singer. She was so happy when we were singing together,” she recalls. “I had so much time to pass at the hospital so I started researching.” In addition to learning of her victorious homecoming to the nation in 1990, after the release of the leader (whom she had met when he was a young lawyer in the era), Seutin found that Makeba had been a breast cancer survivor in her youth, that her child the girl passed away in childbirth in the year, and that because of her banishment she hadn’t been able to attend her parent’s funeral. “Observing individuals and you look at their achievements and you overlook that they are facing challenges like everyone,” says the choreographer.

Creation and Themes

All these thoughts contributed to the making of the production (premiered in Brussels in 2023). Fortunately, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the idea for the work was to honor “death, life and mourning”. In this context, Seutin highlights threads of Makeba’s biography like memories, and references more broadly to the theme of displacement and dispossession nowadays. Although it’s not explicit in the performance, she had in mind a additional character, a modern-day Miriam who is a traveler. “Together, we assemble as these other selves of characters linked with Miriam Makeba to welcome this young migrant.”

Rhythms of exile … musicians in the show.

In the performance, rather than being inebriated by the shebeen’s local drink, the skilled dancers appear possessed by rhythm, in harmony with the players on the platform. Her dance composition incorporates multiple styles of dance she has absorbed over the time, including from African nations, plus the international cast’ own vocabularies, including street styles like krump.

Honoring strength … the creator.

Seutin was taken aback to find that some of the newer, international in the cast didn’t already know about the singer. (Makeba passed away in 2008 after having a heart attack on stage in the country.) Why should younger generations discover Mama Africa? “In my view she would inspire the youth to advocate what they believe in, expressing honesty,” remarks the choreographer. “But she accomplished this very gracefully. She’d say something poignant and then perform a lovely melody.” Seutin aimed to take the similar method in this production. “Audiences observe dancing and hear melodies, an aspect of enjoyment, but intertwined with powerful ideas and instances that resonate. This is what I respect about her. Because if you are being overly loud, people may ignore. They retreat. But she did it in a way that you would accept it, and hear it, but still be graced by her talent.”

• The performance is showing in the city, the dates