Séb é Kan Youth African Dance Company takes the Newmark Theatre stage Oct. 1 at 6:30 p.m. with "Nankama: Born For This," a multigenerational West African dance show.

The Portland troupe, which rehearses weekly at the Harriet Tubman Middle School Dance Studio, will bring dancers spanning multiple age groups to the downtown venue. Tickets start at $38 through Portland'5 Centers for the Arts.

The production traces the journey of life through its phases, with younger and older performers sharing the stage. Karida Griffith Walker, a company member who appeared on KATU's AM Northwest on Sept. 18, said audiences will see children performing alongside adult dancers, including mothers who "get on stage and let them know where they got it from."

The show's title is a Mande term meaning "born for this."

Griffith Walker told KATU the rehearsal and performance space serves a broader purpose for Portland's Black community: "So many of the Black community is spread in different parts of town. So they're bringing different parts of the community together that maybe ordinarily wouldn't have connected on such a deep way as when they're on the floor dancing together."

Built inside Portland schools

Derrell Sekou Soumah Walker, a Portland native, founded Séb é Kan in 2004 after studying Mandingue drumming and dance in Guinea and across the United States, according to the company's website. He has worked as a Portland Public Schools educator specializing in West African dance and drumming since 2006. In 2018, he expanded the ensemble into a youth-focused program.

The troupe's name comes from a Manden phrase meaning "serious sound," as Hoodline reported. Weekly rehearsals at Harriet Tubman Middle School pair students with teachers and drummers.

Onstage history

Séb é Kan has performed halftime shows at Moda Center in 2018 and 2019 and at Portland International Airport. The company staged its previous Newmark Theatre production, "Mobaya: A Coming of Age," in May 2025, as OPB reported.

Simone Walker, a company member for three years, told KATU on Sept. 18 that her favorite part of performing is the constant arrival of new dancers and the feeling that traditions are being handed down across generations. Malia Riley, in her second year with the company, called the rehearsal experience "a new community."

Tickets for "Nankama: Born For This" are available through Portland'5 Centers for the Arts.