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“When you speak about the legendary singer in South Africa, it’s similar to talking about a sovereign,” remarks Alesandra Seutin. Known as the Empress of African Song, Makeba also associated in Greenwich Village with renowned musicians like prominent artists. Starting as a young person sent to work to support her family in the city, she later became a diplomat for Ghana, then the country’s representative to the United Nations. An vocal campaigner against segregation, she was the wife to a activist. This rich story and impact inspire the choreographer’s new production, Mimi’s Shebeen, scheduled for its UK premiere.

A Fusion of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

The show combines dance, live music, and spoken word in a theatrical piece that isn’t a straightforward biodrama but draws on Makeba’s history, particularly her story of exile: after relocating to the city in the year, she was barred from South Africa for three decades due to her opposition to segregation. Subsequently, she was banned from the US after marrying Black Panther activist Stokely Carmichael. The performance resembles a ritual of remembrance, a deconstructed funeral – part eulogy, part celebration, some challenge – with a exceptional South African singer the performer at the centre bringing Makeba’s songs to vibrant life.

Strength and elegance … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In South Africa, a shebeen is an under-the-radar gathering place for locally made drinks and lively conversation, often managed by a host. Her parent Christina was a proprietress who was arrested for producing drinks without permission when Makeba was 18 days old. Unable to pay the penalty, she went to prison for six months, bringing her infant with her, which is how Miriam’s remarkable journey began – just one of the details Seutin learned when studying Makeba’s life. “Numerous tales!” exclaims she, when they met in Brussels after a performance. Her parent is Belgian and she mainly grew up there before relocating to learn and labor in the UK, where she established her company Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would perform her music, such as Pata Pata and Malaika, when she was a child, and dance to them in the living room.

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

A ten years back, Seutin’s mother had the illness and was in hospital in London. “I stopped working for three months to take care of her and she was constantly asking for the singer. It delighted her when we were singing together,” Seutin remembers. “There was ample time to kill at the facility so I began investigating.” In addition to reading about her victorious homecoming to South Africa in 1990, after the release of Nelson Mandela (whom she had encountered when he was a legal professional in the era), she discovered that she had been a someone who overcame illness in her teens, 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 own mother’s memorial. “Observing individuals and you focus on their achievements and you overlook that they are struggling like anyone else,” says the choreographer.

Creation and Themes

These reflections went into the creation of the show (premiered in Brussels in 2023). Fortunately, her parent’s treatment was successful, but the concept for the work was to honor “death, life and mourning”. In this context, Seutin highlights elements of her life story like memories, and nods more broadly to the idea of uprooting and loss nowadays. While it’s not explicit in the performance, Seutin had in mind a second protagonist, a contemporary version who is a migrant. “And we gather as these other selves of personas linked with Miriam Makeba to welcome this young migrant.”

Melodies of banishment … performers in Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the show, rather than being inebriated by the shebeen’s home-brew, the multi-talented dancers appear taken over by beat, in harmony with the musicians on stage. Seutin’s choreography includes various forms of dance she has learned over the years, including from African nations, plus the global performers’ personal styles, including urban dances like the form.

Honoring strength … the creator.

She was taken aback to find that some of the younger, non-South Africans in the group were unaware 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? “I think she would inspire young people to stand for what they believe in, speaking the truth,” says the choreographer. “However she accomplished this very gracefully. She expressed something poignant and then sing a beautiful song.” She aimed to adopt the similar method in this production. “Audiences observe movement and hear beautiful songs, an element of entertainment, but intertwined with strong messages and moments that resonate. That’s what I respect about Miriam. Because if you are shouting too much, people may ignore. They back away. Yet she achieved it in a manner that you would receive it, and understand it, but still be graced by her ability.”

• The performance is showing in London, the dates