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“If you talk about Miriam Makeba in the nation, it’s akin to referring about a royal figure,” states Alesandra Seutin. Called Mama Africa, Makeba also spent time in New York with jazz greats like prominent artists. Starting as a young person dispatched to labor to support her family in the city, she eventually became a diplomat for the nation, then the country’s official delegate to the United Nations. An outspoken campaigner against segregation, she was married to a activist. Her rich story and impact inspire Seutin’s latest work, Mimi’s Shebeen, set for its British debut.

The Blend of Movement, Sound, and Narration

Mimi’s Shebeen merges dance, live music, and oral storytelling in a stage work that is not a simple biography but utilizes Makeba’s history, particularly her story of exile: after moving to the city in the year, she was barred from South Africa for 30 years due to her opposition to segregation. Subsequently, she was excluded from the United States after marrying activist Stokely Carmichael. The show resembles a ceremonial tribute, a reimagined memorial – some praise, some festivity, part provocation – with a fabulous South African singer the performer at the centre reviving her music to vibrant life.

Strength and elegance … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In South Africa, a shebeen is an under-the-radar venue for home-brewed liquor and lively conversation, usually managed by a host. Makeba’s mother the matriarch was a shebeen queen who was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol when Makeba was 18 days old. Unable to pay the penalty, she went to prison for six months, bringing her baby with her, which is how Miriam’s remarkable journey began – just one of the things Seutin discovered when studying her story. “Numerous tales!” exclaims she, when we meet in Brussels after a show. Seutin’s father is Belgian and she was raised there before relocating to study and work in the United Kingdom, where she founded her dance group Vocab Dance. Her parent would perform Makeba’s songs, such as the tunes, when Seutin was a child, and move along in the living room.

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

A ten years back, her parent had cancer and was in hospital in the city. “I stopped working for a quarter to look after her and she was always asking for the singer. It delighted her when we were singing together,” she remembers. “There was ample time to pass at the facility so I began investigating.” In addition to reading about Makeba’s triumphant return to the nation in the year, after the release of Nelson Mandela (whom she had met when he was a young lawyer in the era), Seutin discovered that she had been a someone who overcame illness in her youth, that her child the girl passed away in labor in 1985, and that because of her exile she could not attend her parent’s funeral. “You see people and you focus on their achievements and you overlook that they are struggling like everyone,” says the choreographer.

Development and Themes

All these thoughts went into the creation of the production (premiered in Brussels in 2023). Fortunately, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the concept for the work was to honor “death, life and mourning”. Within that, she highlights elements of Makeba’s biography like memories, and nods more generally to the theme of uprooting and loss today. Although it’s not explicit in the show, Seutin had in mind a additional character, a modern-day Miriam who is a traveler. “And we gather as these other selves of personas linked with the icon to greet this young migrant.”

Melodies of banishment … performers in the show.

In the show, rather than being inebriated by the venue’s home-brew, the skilled performers appear taken over by rhythm, in harmony with the players on stage. Seutin’s dance composition incorporates various forms of movement she has learned over the years, including from African nations, plus the international cast’ own vocabularies, including street styles like the form.

A celebration of resilience … the creator.

She was surprised to find that some of the newer, international in the group were unaware about the singer. (Makeba died in 2008 after having a cardiac event on the platform in the country.) Why should new audiences learn about Mama Africa? “I think she would motivate the youth to advocate what they are, speaking the truth,” says Seutin. “However she did it very gracefully. She’d say something meaningful and then perform a beautiful song.” Seutin aimed to adopt the same approach in this production. “We see movement and hear melodies, an aspect of entertainment, but mixed with strong messages and instances that resonate. This is what I admire about Miriam. Because if you are shouting too much, people won’t listen. They back away. But she did it in a way that you would receive it, and understand it, but still be graced by her talent.”

• Mimi’s Shebeen is at the city, the dates