O.C. DANCE / CHRIS PASLES : Les Ballets’ Life Lesson

The leader of Les Ballets Africains believes the world has gotten worse in the two years since the troupe last toured the United States. So this time, instead of a program sampling the various dances of its native Guinea, the company is bringing a full-length dance-drama with a moral.

“There are so many criminals and much violence in the world now,” company artistic director Italo Zambo said in a recent phone interview from San Francisco, where the company was dancing “Silo: The Path of Life.” The tour comes to the Southland this weekend.

“We think this is the best time to stage this story to help us remember our religions and what our parents said to us: ‘Don’t rob. Don’t do violence. Respect women; respect children. Help people.’ That is very important. If the people of the world forget that, it will be like life in the jungle.”

The 40-member troupe will dance “Silo: The Path of Life” on Saturday in an Orange County Philharmonic Society concert at the Performing Arts Center in Costa Mesa. It also appears Sunday and Monday at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts.

Based on a well-known story in Guinea, “Silo” shows how a widow’s elder son progresses from evil to good through the intervention of spiritual forces.

Wild and abusive, he first flaunts tribal traditions and even insults Kheme Kouye, a mysterious spiritual giant who protects the village, defends moral values and punishes transgressors. Later, Kheme Kouye heals the boy.

“The boy forgets to respect our goddess, forgets to respect our mothers, forgets to respect our laws,” Zambo said. “That boy is going to get punished by the bad spirits. (But) then, in Africa, when somebody gets hurt, we are supposed to help. We’re supposed to come help him to take the best route. That is the story.”

“Silo” lasts about two hours and is told in a typical Ballets Africains mix of mime, acrobatics, singing and traditional dancing.

The subject was chosen at one of the yearly national festivals that provides the company with “the chance to see the best legends, the best stories, ballets and dances,” Zambo said.

“People from 35 regions come and have a big competition. This helps us develop our culture. That is the best moment for us to chose the best story or legend.

“But before we leave (Guinea) to go to Europe or come here, we’re supposed to do one show for all the people and the griots (respected elders) and the people of the department of culture, to see if the story is true or not. . . . We don’t ever bring a story that is not the real story, because we are the national group.”

The effort to tell a story that remains true to Guinea tradition has sometimes run afoul in the United States, where community presenters have occasionally insisted that the women who may dance topless at home cover their breasts here. (See accompanying story.)

That’s not the only source of controversy for the group. Earlier this year, Orange County center officials at first refused to grant dates to the Philharmonic Society for the Ballets Africains and other ethnic folk and dance acts on its 1993-94 “International Artists” series.

Center officials argued that it was not appropriate for the Philharmonic Society to expand its offerings beyond the touring orchestras it has presented locally for 40 years. After heated public debate, the center backed down and approved this year’s series.

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Even in its native Guinea, the company has sparked friction.

The troupe was founded in 1952 by Guinean choreographer Keita Fodeba, who wanted to draw on artistic traditions from the four natural regions of the West African coastal country: the highlands, the coast, the forests and the Fouta Djalon Mountains. But initially, Fodeba encountered opposition from different tribes who felt that only they could sing their own songs and dance their own dances.

When Zambo joined the troupe in 1955, three years before the former French colony won its independence, he encountered opposition for the same reason from his own family. But through long and diligent work and the support of the government, the various tribes have accepted Les Ballets Africains as their national voice.

“Now all the people understand what we want,” Zambo said, “and everybody wants to help us.”

* Les Ballets Africains will dance “Silo: The Path of Life” on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Sponsored by the Orange County Philharmonic Society. $13 to $35. (714) 646-6277. The troupe appears Sunday and Monday at 8 p.m. at the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, 12700 Center Court Drive, Cerritos. $24 to $32. (310) 916-8500.