In his own self-effacing way, Dr. Charles “Chuck” Davis is an evangelist when it comes to African dance.

Davis is the founder of the African American Dance Ensemble, one of the nation’s best-known African-American troupes. Its mission: “to preserve and share the finest traditions of African and African-American dance and music through research, education and entertainment.”

In a recent phone conversation from his home in Durham, N.C., Davis, 67, refused to single out any part of that mission as most important, adding, “It’s edu-tainment, education through entertainment, without preaching, although we’re very spiritual.”

Through the auspices of Bay Chamber Concerts and Youth Arts, Davis’ group is coming to coastal Maine, with a 7:30 p.m. concert Saturday at Strom Auditorium, Camden Hills Regional High School in Rockport (“We start on time,” Davis cautions the fashionably late.)

Also planned are a drum workshop and three lecture-demonstrations at the high school and one lecture-demonstration at Camden Rockport Middle School, none open to the public, on Friday and a movement workshop at 10-11:30 a.m. Saturday in the band room at the high school.

It will be the first trip back to Maine for Davis since 1977, when he came for a National Endowment for the Arts assignment with Ram Island Dance Company in Portland. That’s when he also learned how lobster is prepared.

“My hosts took me shopping,” he recalled. “I was poking and prodding the lobsters in the tank. They asked, ‘Which one do you like?’ I said, ‘I’ll take that one, because it’s cute.’ We went home, and they got this huge pot of water boiling. I was playing with the lobster when they told me to put it in the pot. I’ll never forget that scratching sound it made on the lid. I don’t think I ate lobster for five years after that. I’ve gotten over it, as lobster bisque is one of my favorite foods.”

The ensemble is made up of nine musicians and dancers under the leadership of artistic director Davis, a music director and an administrative staff of four.

But at the heart of the ensemble is Davis, who has been dancing professionally for 45 years. After graduating from an all-black high school in Raleigh, N.C., he went on to Howard University’s Theater and Dance Program. His first job as a regular member of a professional troupe came in 1959, and from then to 1968, he learned from such mentors as Thelma Hill, Eleo Pomare, Jean Leon Destine, Katherine Dunham and Pearl Primus. He started his own dance company in 1968 in New York City.

After five seasons in residence with the American Dance Festival’s Community Services Program, the troupe ended up relocating to Durham in 1984. It was reborn as the African American Dance Ensemble that year.

Every season, auditions for the ensemble are held in August, followed by five weeks of rehearsals. Davis has high standards in what he’s looking for in a dancer: an education in traditional and modern African dance styles, classical ballet training and a familiarity with the folklore of other cultures.

The ensemble crisscrosses the country from September through May, participating in a few hundred dates, including lecture-demonstrations, workshops and concerts.

This leaves the summer free for other pursuits. An annual event for Davis is his 17-day Cultural Arts Safari, which he’s taken to Africa most summers since 1977. On the safari, he leads participants, which includes many teachers and students, off the traditional tourist trails and into the villages.

“This allows me to get away from the textbooks and the lesson plans written by people who have never set foot on the continent, and aren’t aware of the energy that exists there,” he said. “This way, people will understand and have a first-hand knowledge of the culture.”

Over the past decade, Davis has been frequently honored for his work, including being recognized by the Dance Heritage Coalition as one of the first 100 Irreplaceable Dance Treasures in the United States. He’s ambivalent about such awards.

“I appreciate the awards and accept them graciously,” he said. “But it’s about how I’m out sharing my God-given abilities, honoring my parents and mentors who supported me. The fact that someone has taken the time to submit my name for an award is wonderful, but I’m not doing it for those reasons. I’m out doing what’s supposed to be done. I’m put here to bring people together.”

Above all else, the African American Dance Ensemble has a message of unity.

“Dance for me is a way of uniting the people of the world,” Davis said. “If we’re dancing together, we don’t have time to hate.”

For tickets to the African American Dance Ensemble concert, call 236-2823 or go to www.baychamberconcerts.org. Dale McGarrigle can be reached at 990-8028 or dmcgarrigle@bangordailynews.net.