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“Discussing about the legendary singer in South Africa, it’s akin to referring about a sovereign,” explains Alesandra Seutin. Referred to as Mama Africa, the iconic artist also spent time in Greenwich Village with jazz greats like prominent artists. Starting as a teenager sent to work to support her family in the city, she eventually became a diplomat for Ghana, then Guinea’s representative to the UN. An outspoken campaigner against segregation, she was the wife to a activist. Her remarkable life and legacy inspire Seutin’s latest work, Mimi’s Shebeen, scheduled for its British debut.

The Blend of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

Mimi’s Shebeen combines dance, instrumental performances, and oral storytelling in a theatrical piece that is not a simple biography but draws on her past, particularly her story of exile: after relocating to New York in the year, Makeba was barred from her homeland for 30 years due to her opposition to segregation. Later, she was excluded from the United States after marrying activist her spouse. The performance resembles a ritual of remembrance, a deconstructed funeral – some praise, some festivity, part provocation – with a fabulous South African singer the performer at the centre reviving her music to dynamic existence.

Power and poise … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In South Africa, a informal gathering spot is an unofficial venue for home-brewed liquor and animated discussions, usually managed by a host. Makeba’s mother Christina was a proprietress who was arrested for producing drinks without permission when Makeba was a newborn. Incapable of covering the penalty, she went to prison for six months, bringing her infant with her, which is how her remarkable journey started – just one of the things the choreographer discovered when researching Makeba’s life. “So many stories!” says Seutin, when we meet in Brussels after a show. Her parent is from Belgium and she was raised there before relocating to study and work in the United Kingdom, where she founded her company the ensemble. Her parent would sing Makeba’s songs, such as the tunes, when she was a youngster, and dance to them in the home.

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

A decade ago, Seutin’s mother had cancer and was in hospital in the city. “I stopped working for three months to look after her and she was always asking for Miriam Makeba. It delighted her when we were singing together,” she remembers. “I had so much time to kill at the facility so I began investigating.” In addition to reading about her victorious homecoming to the nation in 1990, after the freedom of Nelson Mandela (whom she had encountered when he was a legal professional in the 1950s), she found that Makeba had been a someone who overcame illness in her youth, that her child the girl died in childbirth in 1985, and that due to her banishment she hadn’t been able to attend her parent’s memorial. “Observing individuals and you look at their success and you overlook that they are facing challenges like anyone else,” says the choreographer.

Development and Concepts

All these thoughts contributed to the making of the production (premiered in Brussels in 2023). Thankfully, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the idea for the piece was to celebrate “death, life and mourning”. Within that, she pulls out threads of her life story like flashbacks, and references more generally to the theme of uprooting and loss nowadays. While it’s not explicit in the performance, she had in mind a additional character, a contemporary version who is a migrant. “And we gather as these other selves of personas linked with the icon to welcome this newcomer.”

Melodies of banishment … performers in Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the show, rather than being inebriated by the shebeen’s home-brew, the multi-talented performers appear possessed by beat, in synthesis with the musicians on stage. Seutin’s choreography incorporates various forms of movement she has absorbed over the years, including from African nations, plus the international cast’ own vocabularies, including urban dances like krump.

Honoring strength … the creator.

She was taken aback to find that some of the newer, international in the group were unaware about the artist. (She died in 2008 after having a heart attack on stage in the country.) Why should younger generations discover the legend? “In my view she would inspire young people to stand for what they believe in, speaking the truth,” remarks Seutin. “But she did it very gracefully. She expressed something meaningful and then sing a beautiful song.” She aimed to adopt the same approach in this work. “We see movement and hear beautiful songs, an element of enjoyment, but mixed with strong messages and moments that resonate. That’s what I respect about her. Because if you are shouting too much, people may ignore. They retreat. Yet she did it in a manner that you would receive it, and hear it, but still be graced by her talent.”

• The performance is showing in London, 22-24 October