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Celebrating Miriam Makeba: The Journey of a Fearless Artist Told in a Bold Dance Drama
“If you talk about the legendary singer in the nation, it’s like speaking about a royal figure,” remarks Alesandra Seutin. Called Mama Africa, the iconic artist also associated in New York with jazz greats like prominent artists. Beginning as a teenager dispatched to labor to support her family in Johannesburg, she eventually served as an envoy for the nation, then Guinea’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 new production, the performance, set for its British debut.
The Blend of Movement, Sound, and Narration
The show combines movement, instrumental performances, and spoken word in a stage work that is not a straightforward biodrama but utilizes Makeba’s history, particularly her experience of banishment: after moving to New York in the year, Makeba was barred from her homeland for 30 years due to her anti-apartheid stance. Later, she was excluded from the United States after marrying activist Stokely Carmichael. The show is like a ritual of remembrance, a reimagined memorial – some praise, some festivity, part provocation – with a fabulous vocalist the performer at the centre bringing her music to dynamic existence.
Power and poise … Mimi’s Shebeen.
In the country, a shebeen is an under-the-radar venue for home-brewed liquor and animated discussions, usually managed by a shebeen queen. Makeba’s mother the matriarch was a proprietress who was arrested for illegally brewing alcohol when Miriam was 18 days old. Unable to pay the penalty, she was incarcerated for six months, bringing her infant with her, which is how her eventful life began – just one of the details Seutin learned when researching Makeba’s life. “So many stories!” exclaims Seutin, when we meet in the city after a performance. Her parent is Belgian and she mainly grew up there before relocating to study and work in the UK, where she established her company Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would sing Makeba’s songs, such as Pata Pata and Malaika, when she was a child, and dance to them in the home.
Songs of freedom … the artist sings at the venue in the year.
A ten years back, Seutin’s mother had the illness and was in hospital in London. “I stopped working for a quarter to look after her and she was constantly asking for Miriam Makeba. It delighted her when we were performing as one,” Seutin remembers. “There was ample time to kill at the facility so I started researching.” As well as reading about Makeba’s triumphant return to South Africa in the year, after the freedom of Nelson Mandela (whom she had met when he was a legal professional in the 1950s), Seutin discovered that she had been a someone who overcame illness in her teens, that Makeba’s daughter the girl died in childbirth in the year, and that due to her exile she hadn’t been able to attend her parent’s memorial. “You see people and you look at their achievements and you forget that they are struggling like everyone,” says Seutin.
Development and Concepts
These reflections contributed to the making of the show (premiered in the city in the year). Fortunately, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the concept for the piece was to honor “loss, existence, and grief”. Within that, she pulls out threads of her life story like memories, and references more generally to the idea of uprooting and loss nowadays. While it’s not overt in the show, she had in mind a second protagonist, a modern-day Miriam who is a migrant. “And we gather as these alter egos of personas connected to the icon to greet this young migrant.”
Melodies of banishment … musicians in the show.
In the show, rather than being intoxicated by the shebeen’s local drink, the multi-talented dancers appear possessed by rhythm, in harmony with the musicians on stage. Seutin’s dance composition incorporates various forms of movement she has learned over the years, including from African nations, plus the international cast’ own vocabularies, including urban dances like the form.
Honoring strength … Alesandra Seutin.
Seutin was surprised to find that some of the younger, non-South Africans in the cast were unaware about the singer. (Makeba passed away in the year after having a cardiac event on stage in Italy.) Why should new audiences learn about the legend? “In my view she would motivate young people to advocate what they believe in, speaking the truth,” remarks Seutin. “But she accomplished this very elegantly. She expressed something poignant and then perform a beautiful song.” Seutin aimed to adopt the similar method in this production. “Audiences observe movement and hear beautiful songs, an element of entertainment, but mixed with strong messages and moments that hit. That’s what I respect about her. Since if you are being overly loud, people may ignore. They back away. Yet she achieved it in a manner that you would receive it, and understand it, but still be blessed by her ability.”
Mimi’s Shebeen is at London, the dates
Brian Hernandez
A passionate writer and shopping enthusiast with a keen eye for quality products and lifestyle trends.
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