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“When you speak about Miriam Makeba in the nation, it’s like speaking about a queen,” remarks Alesandra Seutin. Known as the Empress of African Song, the iconic artist additionally spent time in Greenwich Village with renowned musicians like prominent artists. Beginning as a teenager dispatched to labor to support her family in the city, she eventually became a diplomat for Ghana, then the country’s representative to the United Nations. An outspoken campaigner against segregation, she was married to a Black Panther. This remarkable life and legacy inspire the choreographer’s new production, Mimi’s Shebeen, set for its British debut.

A Fusion of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

Mimi’s Shebeen merges movement, live music, and oral storytelling in a theatrical piece that is not a simple biography but utilizes her past, particularly her story of exile: after relocating to New York in the year, she was prohibited from South Africa for 30 years due to her opposition to segregation. Subsequently, she was banned from the United States after marrying activist Stokely Carmichael. The show resembles a ceremonial tribute, a reimagined memorial – part eulogy, part celebration, part provocation – with the exceptional vocalist the performer leading bringing her music to vibrant life.

Strength and elegance … the production.

In South Africa, a informal gathering spot is an under-the-radar gathering place for home-brewed liquor and lively conversation, often presided over by a host. Her parent Christina was a proprietress who was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol when Makeba was a newborn. Unable to pay the fine, Christina went to prison for half a year, bringing her baby with her, which is how her eventful life started – just one of the details the choreographer discovered when researching her story. “So many stories!” exclaims Seutin, when we meet in the city after a show. Seutin’s parent is Belgian and she was raised there before moving to study and work in the UK, where she established her dance group Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would sing Makeba’s songs, such as the tunes, when Seutin was a youngster, and dance to them in the home.

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

A ten years back, Seutin’s mother had cancer and was in medical care in the city. “I paused my career for a quarter to take care of her and she was constantly asking for Miriam Makeba. It delighted her when we were singing together,” she recalls. “There was ample time to pass at the hospital so I started researching.” In addition to reading about Makeba’s triumphant return to South Africa in the year, after the release of Nelson Mandela (whom she had met when he was a legal professional in the era), Seutin discovered that Makeba had been a someone who overcame illness in her youth, that her child Bongi passed away in labor in 1985, and that due to her banishment she hadn’t been able to be present at her parent’s memorial. “You see people and you focus on their success and you forget that they are facing challenges like everyone,” says Seutin.

Creation and Concepts

All these thoughts contributed to the making of the show (first staged in Brussels in the year). Fortunately, Seutin’s mother’s treatment was successful, but the concept for the piece was to celebrate “loss, existence, and grief”. Within that, Seutin highlights elements of Makeba’s biography like flashbacks, and nods more broadly to the theme of uprooting and loss today. Although it’s not explicit in the show, she had in mind a second protagonist, a modern-day Miriam who is a migrant. “Together, we assemble as these other selves of characters connected to the icon to welcome this young migrant.”

Melodies of banishment … musicians in Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the performance, rather than being intoxicated by the venue’s home-brew, the multi-talented dancers appear taken over by rhythm, in synthesis with the musicians on stage. Her dance composition includes multiple styles of dance she has learned over the years, including from African nations, plus the global performers’ personal styles, including street styles like krump.

A celebration of resilience … the creator.

Seutin was surprised to find that some of the newer, international in the group were unaware about the artist. (She passed away in 2008 after having a cardiac event on the platform in the country.) Why should new audiences learn about the legend? “In my view she would inspire the youth to stand for what they believe in, expressing honesty,” says Seutin. “But she did it very gracefully. She expressed something poignant and then sing a lovely melody.” She aimed to take the similar method in this production. “Audiences observe movement and listen to melodies, an element of entertainment, but intertwined with strong messages and instances that resonate. That’s what I respect about her. Since if you are shouting too much, people may ignore. They retreat. Yet she achieved it in a manner that you would accept it, and understand it, but still be blessed by her ability.”

• The performance is showing in the city, 22-24 October