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“If you talk about the legendary singer in South Africa, it’s akin to referring about a queen,” states Alesandra Seutin. Called the Empress of African Song, the iconic artist also spent time in Greenwich Village with jazz greats like prominent artists. Beginning as a young person sent to work to provide for her relatives in the city, she eventually became a diplomat for Ghana, then the country’s representative to the UN. An vocal anti-apartheid activist, she was married to a Black Panther. Her rich story and impact inspire the choreographer’s latest work, the performance, set for its UK premiere.

A Blend of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

Mimi’s Shebeen combines movement, live music, and spoken word in a stage work that is not a simple biography but utilizes her past, especially her story of exile: after moving to the city in 1959, Makeba was barred from her homeland for three decades due to her anti-apartheid stance. Later, she was banned from the United States after wedding activist her spouse. The show is like a ritual of remembrance, a reimagined memorial – some praise, part celebration, some challenge – with the fabulous vocalist Tutu Puoane leading reviving Makeba’s songs to dynamic existence.

Strength and elegance … the production.

In the country, a shebeen is an under-the-radar gathering place for locally made drinks and animated discussions, usually managed by a shebeen queen. Her parent Christina was a shebeen queen who was detained for producing drinks without permission when Miriam was a newborn. Incapable of covering the fine, she was incarcerated for six months, bringing her infant with her, which is how Miriam’s remarkable journey began – just one of the things Seutin learned when researching Makeba’s life. “Numerous tales!” exclaims she, when we meet in Brussels after a performance. Her parent is from Belgium and she mainly grew up there before relocating to study and work in the UK, where she founded her company Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would sing Makeba’s songs, such as the tunes, when she was a youngster, and move along in the living room.

Melodies of liberation … the artist sings at Wembley Stadium in 1988.

A decade ago, her parent had the illness and was in medical care in the city. “I stopped working for a quarter to take care of her and she was always requesting the singer. It delighted her when we were performing as one,” she recalls. “There was ample time to kill at the hospital so I began investigating.” As well as 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 young lawyer in the 1950s), Seutin found that Makeba had been a breast cancer survivor in her youth, that Makeba’s daughter Bongi passed away in labor in 1985, and that due to her exile she could not be present at her own mother’s memorial. “Observing individuals and you focus on their achievements and you forget that they are facing challenges like everyone,” says Seutin.

Creation and Themes

All these thoughts went into the creation of the production (premiered in Brussels in the year). Thankfully, Seutin’s mother’s therapy was effective, but the idea for the piece was to celebrate “death, life and mourning”. Within that, Seutin pulls out threads of her life story like memories, and references more generally to the idea of displacement and dispossession today. While it’s not explicit in the performance, 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 Miriam Makeba to welcome this young migrant.”

Rhythms of exile … performers in the show.

In the show, rather than being inebriated by the venue’s local drink, the skilled performers appear taken over by beat, in harmony with the musicians on the platform. Her dance composition incorporates multiple styles 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 surprised to find that some of the younger, non-South Africans in the group were unaware about the singer. (Makeba passed away in the year after having a cardiac event on stage in the country.) Why should younger generations discover the legend? “I think she would inspire young people to stand for what they believe in, expressing honesty,” remarks Seutin. “However she accomplished this very gracefully. She’d say something meaningful and then sing a lovely melody.” Seutin aimed to adopt the similar method in this production. “Audiences observe dancing and listen to beautiful songs, an element of enjoyment, but mixed with strong messages and moments that resonate. That’s what I respect about Miriam. Because if you are being overly loud, people may ignore. They back away. But she achieved it in a manner that you would accept it, and hear it, but still be blessed by her ability.”

• Mimi’s Shebeen is showing in the city, 22-24 October