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“Discussing about Miriam Makeba in South Africa, it’s akin to referring about a sovereign,” states Alesandra Seutin. Called the Empress of African Song, the iconic artist additionally associated in Greenwich Village with renowned musicians like prominent artists. Starting as a teenager sent to work to support her family in the city, she eventually became a diplomat for the nation, then Guinea’s official delegate to the United Nations. An outspoken campaigner against segregation, she was married to a Black Panther. This rich story and impact motivate the choreographer’s latest work, the performance, scheduled for its UK premiere.

A Blend of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

The show combines movement, instrumental performances, and oral storytelling in a theatrical piece that isn’t a straightforward biodrama but utilizes Makeba’s history, especially her story of exile: after moving to New York in the year, she was barred from her homeland for 30 years due to her opposition to segregation. Later, she was banned from the United States after marrying Black Panther activist Stokely Carmichael. The performance resembles a ceremonial tribute, a reimagined memorial – part eulogy, part celebration, part provocation – with a fabulous South African singer the performer at the centre reviving her music to vibrant life.

Power and poise … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the country, a shebeen is an under-the-radar venue for locally made drinks and lively conversation, usually presided over by a host. Her parent the matriarch was a proprietress who was detained for illegally brewing alcohol when Miriam was 18 days old. Unable to pay the fine, Christina was incarcerated for six months, taking her baby with her, which is how her eventful life started – just one of the things the choreographer learned when researching Makeba’s life. “Numerous tales!” says Seutin, when they met in the city after a performance. Her parent is from Belgium and she was raised there before relocating to study and work in the UK, where she founded her company the ensemble. Her South African mother would perform Makeba’s songs, such as Pata Pata and Malaika, when Seutin was a child, and dance to them in the living room.

Songs of freedom … the artist sings at the venue in the year.

A decade ago, her parent had cancer and was in hospital in the city. “I paused my career for a quarter to take care of her and she was always asking for the singer. It delighted her when we were singing together,” Seutin recalls. “I had so much time to pass at the facility so I began investigating.” As well as learning of her victorious homecoming to South Africa in the year, after the freedom of Nelson Mandela (whom she had met when he was a young lawyer in the era), Seutin discovered that she had been a someone who overcame illness in her youth, that Makeba’s daughter the girl passed away in childbirth in 1985, and that because of her exile she hadn’t been able to attend her own mother’s funeral. “Observing individuals and you focus on their success and you forget that they are facing challenges like everyone,” says Seutin.

Creation and Concepts

These reflections went into the creation of the production (first staged in the city in 2023). Thankfully, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the idea for the piece was to honor “death, life and mourning”. Within that, she pulls out threads of her life story like memories, and references more generally to the theme of uprooting and loss today. Although it’s not overt in the performance, she had in mind a second protagonist, a modern-day Miriam who is a traveler. “And we gather as these alter egos of characters linked with the icon to greet this newcomer.”

Melodies of banishment … performers in the show.

In the show, rather than being inebriated by the venue’s local drink, the multi-talented performers appear taken over by rhythm, in synthesis with the players on stage. Seutin’s choreography incorporates multiple styles of dance she has absorbed over the years, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the international cast’ own vocabularies, including street styles like the form.

Honoring strength … the creator.

She was taken aback to find that some of the newer, international in the group didn’t already know about the artist. (Makeba passed away in the year after having a cardiac event on the platform in the country.) Why should new audiences discover the legend? “In my view she would inspire the youth to stand for what they believe in, expressing honesty,” remarks the choreographer. “But she did it very gracefully. She’d say something meaningful and then sing a lovely melody.” Seutin aimed to take the similar method in this work. “Audiences observe movement and listen to beautiful songs, an aspect of enjoyment, but mixed with powerful ideas and moments that resonate. This is what I admire about Miriam. Because if you are shouting too much, people may ignore. They retreat. But she achieved it in a way that you would receive it, and hear it, but still be graced by her talent.”

• The performance is at the city, 22-24 October