Song and dance with Alseny Yansane and Won Tan Nara Productions explores the joy and the passion of West African culture through music.

Yansane, teacher and 14-year performing artist with the touring group, Ballets Africains, offers performances and workshops for audiences of all ages with powerful dance movements, daring acrobatics, melodious songs and exhilarating percussion music, according to a press release.

n On Friday, Oct. 10, he will collaborate with Andrea DiPalma of Won Tan Nara Productions and Coos Bay’s own Rhythm Village for a performance at the Broadway Theater, 226 S. Broadway, Coos Bay. Oregon Coast Music Association and Oregon Coast High School of the Arts are sponsoring the event that begins at 8 p.m. and also will include performances by Streptocarpus and Revolution Hi-Fi Sound System, featuring DJ Macka Roots. For more information, call (541) 266-9020.

n Yansane also will offer drum and dance workshops on Saturday, Oct. 11, at the annual Octoberfish at the Old Charleston School on Seven Devils Road in Charleston. Octoberfish is an all-day festival of local food, music, art and wisdom. The event, organized by Octoberfish committee, lasts from noon to 10 p.m. and costs $2 per person; $5 per family; or two cans or boxes of food per person. Proceeds will go to Charleston Food Cupboard.

For more information, visit http://www.octoberfish.com.

Since he was 7 years old, Yansane has been immersed in the musical and dance tradition of his native country, Guinea, West Africa. Yansane trained and performed in many competitions as a dancer, drummer, and acrobat in the dawning of the Republic’s newly won independence from France. Historically, this was a time when art and cultural appreciation and cultivation were at an all-time high and the training that artists received was rigorous and systematic. Artists had to compete on a national level annually as a way of moving up to higher levels of artistic status. These competitions were held in the heart of Alseny’s neighborhood and attracted groups from all over Guinea who represented specific art and culture from various regions and ethnic groups.

Yansane knows how to make West African dance and drumming accessible to a variety of levels by breaking things down and using fun games that reinforce important concepts while being patient and encouraging, the press release said.