Music, art and activism: step inside Mimi’s Shebeen

Alesandra Seutin invites the audience into an underground South African shebeen to experience a journey full of life: of struggle, grit and determination. This poetic dance production, full of music and song, celebrates the legacy of iconic singer Miriam Makeba, cherished as Mama Africa.

Shebeens were underground bars where Black South Africans could meet to sing, laugh, drink and talk politics under the country’s oppressive apartheid regime. Most shebeens were run by strong-minded women: the “shebeen queens”.

Alesandra Seutin’s mother often sang Makeba’s song Nomeva to her, and told her stories about the singer. Banished from her homeland, Makeba’s activism and artistry always shone bright, inspiring this production’s rich stories of exile, immigration and humanity.

Mimi’s Shebeen is infused with Seutin’s signature blend of dance and text. Here, she collaborates with major artists of African heritage: Lebo Mashile and Lisette Ma Neza (text), Angelo Moustapha and Zouratié Koné (music), and singer Tutu Puoane.

Alesandra Seutin was born in Harare, grew up in Brussels and is now based in London. Founder of Vocab Dance, she is also Co-Artistic Director of the famed École des Sables in Senegal. “Dance for me is a way of expression,” she says. “Through my work, I intend to speak volumes.”

Header image description: A man sits on a box in the middle of a dark stage. In front of him is an upturned wheelchair. Above him is a car, suspended from the ceiling, nose first. He is holding the figure of a person who is lying flat across his knees, their head resting on his arm.

Header image © Danny Willems