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“When you speak about Miriam Makeba in the nation, it’s akin to referring about a royal figure,” states the choreographer. Known as Mama Africa, Makeba also associated in Greenwich Village with jazz greats like prominent artists. Starting as a young person sent to work to support her family in the city, she eventually became a diplomat for Ghana, then the country’s representative to the UN. An vocal campaigner against segregation, she was married to a activist. Her rich story and impact inspire Seutin’s new production, Mimi’s Shebeen, set for its British debut.

A Blend of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

Mimi’s Shebeen merges movement, live music, and oral storytelling in a theatrical piece that is not a simple biography but utilizes Makeba’s history, particularly her story of exile: after relocating to New York in the year, Makeba was prohibited from her homeland for three decades due to her opposition to segregation. Later, she was banned from the United States after marrying Black Panther activist her spouse. The show is like a ceremonial tribute, a deconstructed funeral – part eulogy, some festivity, some challenge – with the exceptional vocalist Tutu Puoane at the centre bringing Makeba’s songs to dynamic existence.

Power and poise … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the country, a shebeen is an unofficial gathering place for home-brewed liquor and animated discussions, often managed by a shebeen queen. Makeba’s mother Christina was a shebeen queen who was arrested for producing drinks without permission when Makeba was a newborn. Incapable of covering the penalty, she went to prison for half a year, bringing her infant with her, which is how Miriam’s eventful life began – just one of the things the choreographer discovered when studying her story. “Numerous tales!” says she, when we meet in the city after a performance. Her father is from Belgium and she mainly grew up there before moving to study and work in the UK, where she founded her dance group the ensemble. Her parent would perform Makeba’s songs, such as the tunes, when Seutin was a youngster, and move along in the living room.

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

A ten years back, Seutin’s mother had the illness and was in medical care in the city. “I paused my career for three months to look after her and she was constantly asking for Miriam Makeba. She was so happy when we were singing together,” Seutin remembers. “There was ample time to pass at the hospital so I began investigating.” In addition to reading about Makeba’s triumphant return to the nation in the year, after the release of the leader (whom she had met when he was a legal professional in the era), she discovered that she had been a breast cancer survivor in her teens, that her child Bongi died in labor in 1985, and that because of her banishment she could not be present at her parent’s funeral. “You see people and you look at their achievements and you overlook that they are facing challenges like anyone else,” states the choreographer.

Development and Concepts

These reflections went into the creation of the production (premiered in the city in the year). Thankfully, her parent’s treatment was successful, but the concept for the work was to honor “loss, existence, and grief”. In this context, she pulls out elements of her life story like memories, and references more generally to the idea of displacement and dispossession nowadays. While it’s not explicit in the show, she had in mind a additional character, a contemporary version who is a traveler. “And we gather as these other selves of personas linked with the icon to welcome this newcomer.”

Rhythms of exile … performers in Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the show, rather than being intoxicated by the shebeen’s home-brew, the multi-talented dancers appear taken over by rhythm, in synthesis with the musicians on the platform. Her dance composition incorporates various forms of movement she has absorbed over the time, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the global performers’ personal styles, including street styles like krump.

Honoring strength … the creator.

Seutin was surprised to find that some of the younger, non-South Africans in the group didn’t already know about the singer. (Makeba died in the year after having a cardiac event on stage in Italy.) Why should younger generations discover Mama Africa? “In my view she would motivate the youth to stand for what they believe in, speaking the truth,” says Seutin. “But she did it very gracefully. She’d say something poignant and then perform a beautiful song.” Seutin aimed to adopt the similar method in this work. “We see movement and listen to melodies, an aspect of entertainment, but intertwined with powerful ideas and moments that resonate. This is what I respect about Miriam. Since if you are being overly loud, people won’t listen. They back away. Yet she did it in a way that you would receive it, and understand it, but still be graced by her talent.”

• The performance is at London, the dates