Some know Dennis Newsome as the...

Some know Dennis Newsome as the flirtatious dancer who performs robotics, a dance form originated in West Oakland, at San Diego events. Others became aware of his martial arts skills when he choreographed the fight sequences and trained the stars for the hit movie “Lethal Weapon.” Newsome, also an actor and writer, volunteers time to offer kids an alternative to drugs and gangs. The 32-year-old master instructs youths in nine African martial arts. His dance troupe, Tekura Jegnas, which means Black Hero-Warrior, is made up of 20 students ranging in age from 6 to 32. The dance ensemble recently performed capoeria and makulele, both African martial arts, on the United Negro College Telethon. Newsome was interviewed by Times staff writer Terry Rather and was photographed by David McNew.

A lot of people who see me out doing robotics would not believe I do this. I started Tekura Jegnas in 1982. What I’m trying to do is train young African-Americans so they can come back and teach the art to others in the community.

I was already performing different kinds of African-American folk dances. I wanted to expand and go beyond that. I had come across many kinds of fighting of African origin, and I wanted to research, preserve and present on a theatrical level African martial arts dances.

When I was a child, my father practiced a form of fighting that he learned from his father. My grandfather knew a style of upright wrestling that he taught my father. He presented it to me as a game. I was a small child, but I used to carry him on my back. He did that to teach me leverage. It made me curious. I wanted to learn more about self-defense.

I have since studied all kinds of fighting, African, Asian and European. I started learning African martial arts eight years ago.

To me, it is a connection with my roots. On a pragmatic level, the need for personal defense is a social reality. There is a need for self-defense, male and female, young and old.

Beyond all that, on the artistic level, these arts are beautiful expressions because of the duality of dance and fight. It is a good way to channel energy. It’s very entertaining to watch. The best way to get people to know about it is through theatrical presentation.

One thing for sure, everyone needs to learn self-defense. Treating it as dance is one way to teach it. Capoeria , an African-Brazilian martial art, creates an exciting, beautiful collage of fight. The same can be said for makulele, which is an Ethiopian art. The kids just love it.

The thrust of what I do is to find young people and get them to become inspired to re-investigate their own histories, to look at dance not only from a Eurocentric standpoint but also from an Afrocentric standpoint. I also encourage people to investigate other cultures to understand what others have contributed to mankind.