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“If you talk about the legendary singer in the nation, it’s similar to talking about a royal figure,” remarks the choreographer. Known as the Empress of African Song, the iconic artist also spent time in Greenwich Village with renowned musicians like prominent artists. Starting as a young person dispatched to labor to support her family in the city, she later became a diplomat for Ghana, then Guinea’s official delegate to the UN. An vocal campaigner against segregation, she was married to a Black Panther. This remarkable life and legacy motivate the choreographer’s latest work, Mimi’s Shebeen, set for its UK premiere.

The Blend of Movement, Sound, and Narration

The show merges dance, live music, and spoken word in a theatrical piece that is not a straightforward biodrama but draws on her past, particularly her story of exile: after relocating to New York in the year, she was barred from her homeland for three decades due to her opposition to segregation. Later, she was excluded from the US after marrying Black Panther activist her spouse. The performance resembles a ceremonial tribute, a reimagined memorial – some praise, some festivity, part provocation – with the exceptional vocalist the performer at the centre reviving her music to vibrant life.

Power and poise … the production.

In the country, a informal gathering spot is an unofficial gathering place for home-brewed liquor and lively conversation, usually managed by a shebeen queen. Makeba’s mother the matriarch was a shebeen queen who was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol when Miriam was a newborn. Unable to pay the fine, Christina went to prison for six months, bringing her infant with her, which is how her eventful life started – just one of the things the choreographer learned when studying Makeba’s life. “Numerous tales!” says she, when we meet in Brussels after a performance. Her father 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 living room.

Melodies of liberation … Miriam Makeba sings at the venue in 1988.

A decade ago, her parent had cancer and was in medical care in London. “I stopped working for three months to look after her and she was always requesting Miriam Makeba. She was so happy when we were singing together,” she recalls. “I had so much time to pass at the hospital so I started researching.” As well as learning of her victorious homecoming to South Africa in the year, after the freedom of the leader (whom she had met when he was a legal professional in the 1950s), Seutin discovered that Makeba had been a someone who overcame illness in her teens, that Makeba’s daughter Bongi passed away in labor in the year, and that due to her banishment she hadn’t been able to be present at her parent’s memorial. “You see people and you look at their achievements and you forget that they are struggling like anyone else,” states Seutin.

Development and Concepts

These reflections went into the making of the production (first staged in the city in 2023). Fortunately, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the idea for the piece was to celebrate “death, life and mourning”. In this context, Seutin pulls out threads of Makeba’s biography like memories, and nods more broadly to the theme of uprooting and loss today. While it’s not overt in the performance, Seutin had in mind a second protagonist, a contemporary version who is a migrant. “Together, we assemble as these alter egos of personas linked with Miriam Makeba to welcome this young migrant.”

Melodies of banishment … musicians in the show.

In the show, rather than being intoxicated by the shebeen’s home-brew, the skilled performers appear possessed by beat, in harmony with the players on the platform. Her choreography incorporates various forms of dance she has absorbed over the time, including from African nations, plus the international cast’ personal styles, including urban dances like the form.

A celebration of resilience … the creator.

Seutin was taken aback to find that some of the newer, international in the cast were unaware about the artist. (Makeba died in 2008 after having a heart attack on the platform in the country.) Why should younger generations discover Mama Africa? “In my view she would inspire young people to stand for what they are, speaking the truth,” says the choreographer. “However she accomplished this very elegantly. She expressed something meaningful and then perform a lovely melody.” Seutin wanted to take the similar method in this work. “We see dancing and hear beautiful songs, an aspect of enjoyment, but intertwined with strong messages and moments that hit. That’s what I respect about Miriam. Since if you are being overly loud, people may ignore. They retreat. Yet she achieved it in a manner that you would accept it, and hear it, but still be blessed by her talent.”

• The performance is at the city, the dates