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“Discussing about Miriam Makeba in the nation, it’s similar to talking about a sovereign,” explains the choreographer. Known as the Empress of African Song, Makeba also associated in Greenwich Village with renowned musicians like Miles Davis and Duke Ellington. Starting as a young person dispatched to labor to provide for her relatives in the city, she later served as an envoy for Ghana, then the country’s official delegate to the UN. An outspoken anti-apartheid activist, she was married to a Black Panther. This rich story and impact motivate Seutin’s latest work, Mimi’s Shebeen, set for its British debut.

A Fusion of Movement, Sound, and Narration

Mimi’s Shebeen merges dance, instrumental performances, and spoken word in a theatrical piece that is not a simple biography but draws on Makeba’s history, particularly her story of exile: after relocating to New York in 1959, she was barred from South Africa for three decades due to her opposition to segregation. Later, she was banned from the United States after marrying activist Stokely Carmichael. The performance is like a ritual of remembrance, a deconstructed funeral – some praise, some festivity, part provocation – with the fabulous vocalist Tutu Puoane at the centre reviving her music to dynamic existence.

Strength and elegance … the production.

In the country, a informal gathering spot is an under-the-radar gathering place for home-brewed liquor and lively conversation, usually presided over by a host. Makeba’s mother the matriarch was a shebeen queen who was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol when Makeba was a newborn. Unable to pay the fine, Christina went to prison for six months, bringing her baby with her, which is how her remarkable journey began – just one of the things the choreographer discovered when studying her story. “Numerous tales!” exclaims Seutin, when they met in the city after a show. Her parent is from Belgium and she mainly grew up there before moving to study and work in the United Kingdom, where she established her company Vocab Dance. Her parent would perform her music, such as the tunes, when Seutin was a child, and dance to them in the home.

Songs of freedom … the artist sings at Wembley Stadium in 1988.

A ten years back, her parent had the illness and was in medical care in the city. “I paused my career for a quarter to look after her and she was constantly asking for Miriam Makeba. She was so happy when we were performing as one,” she remembers. “There was ample time to kill at the facility so I started researching.” In addition to reading about her victorious homecoming to the nation in the year, after the freedom of Nelson Mandela (whom she had met when he was a legal professional in the 1950s), Seutin discovered that she had been a someone who overcame illness in her teens, that her child Bongi died in labor in the year, and that due to her banishment she could not attend her own mother’s funeral. “Observing individuals and you look at their achievements and you forget that they are facing challenges like everyone,” states Seutin.

Creation and Concepts

These reflections contributed to the creation of the production (first staged in the city in the year). Thankfully, Seutin’s mother’s therapy was successful, but the idea for the work was to celebrate “loss, existence, and grief”. Within that, Seutin pulls out threads of her life story like memories, and references more generally to the idea of uprooting and loss today. While it’s not explicit in the show, Seutin had in mind a additional character, a contemporary version who is a migrant. “And we gather as these other selves of characters connected to the icon to welcome this newcomer.”

Melodies of banishment … musicians in the show.

In the show, rather than being inebriated by the shebeen’s home-brew, the skilled performers appear taken over by rhythm, in harmony with the players on stage. Seutin’s choreography includes multiple styles of dance she has learned over the years, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the global performers’ own vocabularies, including street styles like the form.

Honoring strength … Alesandra Seutin.

She was surprised to find that some of the younger, non-South Africans in the group didn’t already know about the artist. (Makeba passed away in the year after having a heart attack on the platform in the country.) Why should younger generations learn about the legend? “I think she would inspire the youth to advocate what they believe in, expressing honesty,” says Seutin. “But she accomplished this very elegantly. She’d say something poignant and then perform a beautiful song.” She wanted to adopt the same approach in this production. “We see movement and hear beautiful songs, an aspect of entertainment, but mixed with powerful ideas and instances that hit. This is what I respect about her. Because if you are shouting too much, people won’t listen. They back away. Yet she achieved it in a manner that you would receive it, and understand it, but still be graced by her talent.”

• The performance is at the city, the dates