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“When you speak about the legendary singer in the nation, it’s akin to referring about a sovereign,” states Alesandra Seutin. Known as the Empress of African Song, Makeba additionally spent time in New York with jazz greats like prominent artists. Starting as a teenager dispatched to labor to provide for her relatives in the city, she later became a diplomat for the nation, then Guinea’s official delegate to the UN. An vocal anti-apartheid activist, she was married to a activist. This remarkable life and legacy inspire the choreographer’s latest work, the performance, scheduled for its UK premiere.

A Fusion of Dance, Music, and Spoken Word

The show combines dance, live music, and spoken word in a theatrical piece that isn’t a straightforward biodrama but draws on her past, especially her experience of banishment: after relocating to New York in 1959, she 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 Stokely Carmichael. The show is like a ceremonial tribute, a reimagined memorial – some praise, some festivity, part provocation – with the fabulous vocalist Tutu Puoane at the centre reviving her music to vibrant life.

Strength and elegance … Mimi’s Shebeen.

In the country, a shebeen is an unofficial venue for locally made drinks and animated discussions, usually managed by a host. Her parent Christina was a proprietress who was arrested for producing drinks without permission when Miriam was 18 days old. Incapable of covering the fine, Christina went to prison for half a year, taking her infant with her, which is how her remarkable journey started – just one of the things the choreographer learned when researching her story. “Numerous tales!” exclaims Seutin, when we meet in the city after a show. Her father is Belgian and she mainly grew up there before moving to study and work in the UK, where she founded her company Vocab Dance. Her South African mother would perform her music, such as Pata Pata and Malaika, when she was a child, and dance to them in the home.

Songs of freedom … Miriam Makeba performs at the venue in the year.

A decade ago, Seutin’s mother had cancer and was in medical care in the city. “I paused my career for a quarter to take care of her and she was constantly asking for the singer. It delighted her when we were performing as one,” she remembers. “There was ample time to kill at the facility so I began investigating.” As well as learning of Makeba’s triumphant return to South Africa in the year, after the release of the leader (whom she had encountered when he was a legal professional in the 1950s), Seutin discovered that Makeba had been a breast cancer survivor in her youth, that her child the girl passed away in labor in the year, and that because of her exile she could not be present at her own mother’s funeral. “You see people and you focus on their success and you overlook that they are struggling like everyone,” states Seutin.

Development and Concepts

All these thoughts went into the creation of the show (premiered in Brussels in the year). Thankfully, her parent’s therapy was successful, but the idea for the piece was to honor “death, life and mourning”. Within that, Seutin highlights elements of Makeba’s biography like flashbacks, and nods more broadly to the idea of uprooting and loss today. Although it’s not explicit in the show, she had in mind a second protagonist, a contemporary version who is a migrant. “And we gather as these other selves of personas connected to the icon to greet this newcomer.”

Melodies of banishment … musicians in the show.

In the show, rather than being intoxicated by the venue’s home-brew, the multi-talented dancers appear possessed by rhythm, in harmony with the musicians on the platform. Her dance composition incorporates various forms of dance she has absorbed over the time, including from Rwanda, South Africa and Senegal, plus the international cast’ personal styles, including urban dances like the form.

A celebration of resilience … Alesandra Seutin.

She was surprised to find that some of the younger, non-South Africans in the cast were unaware about the singer. (She passed away in 2008 after having a cardiac event on stage in the country.) Why should younger generations learn about Mama Africa? “I think she would inspire young people to stand for what they are, expressing honesty,” remarks Seutin. “However she did it very gracefully. She expressed something meaningful and then perform a lovely melody.” Seutin wanted to take the same approach in this work. “Audiences observe movement and listen to melodies, an aspect of entertainment, but mixed with strong messages and moments that hit. This is what I admire about Miriam. Since if you are being overly loud, people won’t listen. They back away. But she achieved it in a way that you would receive it, and understand it, but still be blessed by her ability.”

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