features
Alumna teaches dancing
“The world can be ugly at
times, but in dance class, it
is always beautiful,” a Reed
College dance teacher
once said.
Story and photos
by Ramona Isacksor
Leru Bevens, former CCC
student, heartily agrees.
“Hl always study dance,”
said Bevens, who had her
first exposure to dance at
the age of 26. After moving
to this area from southern
Oregon, Bevens enrolled at
Lake Oswego School of
Ballet.
Her interest
blossomed and she enroll*
ed in a modem dance class
at CCC.
“What ballet lacked in
creativity, free form and ex­
pression, I found in
modern,” Bevens said.
The dance class. Bevens
said, gave her confidence
and she decided to try
some academic courses.
Starting with one or two of
them, encouraged, taking
more and more, Bevens
discovered an interest in
psychology,
English,
literature, history and
theater.
“I was developing, begin­
ning to like myself,” she
said.
It wasn’t long before
Bevens started teaching
dance for the Oregon City
Community Education pro­
gram, and as a substitute in
dance class at the College,
then at Reed College, the
University of Portland, Nor­
thwest Dance Center,
various private clubs and
junior high and grade
schools. She is currently
involved in production and
erformance with various
Portland area dance
groups.
Bevens is now starting
her own dance school in
Oregon City. She is offering
classes for all ages.
One class she is par­
ticularly enthusiastic about
is specifically designed to
balance out the athlete in
the sports program.
“The body,” Bevens said,
“is capable of over 2,000
movements. The average
person uses only about
200.” Dance flexes all
muscles so the whole body
is evenly toned. “It
develops balance, strength,
endurance and range, thus
reducing the potential for
injury,” she said.
For more information
about Bevens’ dance pro­
gram, call 657-9334 oi
ABOVE--Leru Bevens, former CCC studei
is starting her own dance school.
LEFT-Leru warming-up before dancing.
Sculpture heck of an investment
By T.L. Jeffries
“They were a heck of an in­
vestment!” responded Art
Department Chairperson Norm
Bursheim, when asked how he
felt about comments that
various campus artworks were
a waste of time and money.
These include the “Poet’s
Chair,” the Robert Nelson
prints in the Community
Center, and the various
murals. According to Bursheim
the College received them for
“next to nothing.”
The'
problem
is
misunderstanding,” explained
Bursheim. “Too many people'
look at the rust on the ‘Poet’s
chair’ and think: ‘junk’.”
The sculpture, constructed
by Lee Kelly, one of the top
sculptors in the nation, was
built of a special steel that is
designed to rust to predeter­
mined depth and then stop. It
was an effect that the artist and
Page 6
the art advisory board wanted.
The assorted colors in the
special rust (greens, yellows,
browns, and reds) blend in with
the surroundings.. The
sculpture also serves a pur­
pose. It was constructed at a
time when the students were
very politically-minded, to give
them a place to speak out. The
sculpture is designed with steps
leading up to the platform,
where students may speak,
debate, preach, or just play a
guitar. The surrounding
mounds were set up to give a
stadium-like appearance, and a
place for listeners.
The “Poet’s Chair” and the
Community Center prints were
purchased in a package deal.
The College Art Advisory
Board, which is made Up of
16-17 students, artists, and
citizens, approached the
Oregon Art Association with
their plans and were given a
grant to cover half the costs.
So, for a total of $8,000 the
College bought artwork that to­
day is valued at about
$24,000. .
' The assorted murals on cam­
pus cost even less. The mural
decorating the cooling tower
was done by students, and
others were done by top artists
for only , the cost of materials
and meals. According to Bur­
sheim, the painting in Barlow
alone would cost several thou­
sand dollars if someone was
paid to paint it.
“Some people may think
that the $8,000 w^ paid for the
artwork was a waste, but from
the standpoint of art, it was
cheap,
and
a
good
investment,” Bursheim said.
. “It’s too bad that some ped-
ple are automatically prejudic­
ed against anything rusty, but
it,’s a beautiful color and we
shouldn’t deprive ourselves of
it.”
Clackamas Community Colle!