By Jamie Santiago

This article was published on 10.21.10.

PHOTO BY WES DAVIS

Most dancers who want to learn something new might take a ballet or jazz class to sharpen their skills. But Sacramento Pole Dance Studio owner and instructor Lisa Hellmann teaches a challenging sport that not many people have mastered—except maybe the strippers at your local club. Hellmann teaches pole-dancing and lap-dance routines that can seriously tone your body and give you an extra boost of confidence. For more information, visitwww.sacramentopoledancestudio.com.

What types of classes do you offer?

Pole, lap, burlesque, and we do private classes and private parties. We do fitness-oriented classes every day, and we do private classes for whatever the meaning is. We get a few dancers in who want to up their game, and we get a lot of women that just want to do something special for their husband, or they’re too intimidated to take a regular class. Then we do a lot of private and bachelorette parties.

Who is allowed to take classes?

Well, technically, anyone is allowed to take classes. I always prefer girls to be older so that they’re aware of what they’re doing. I have had moms bring in their daughters. And as long as I get a release of liability from a parent, they can.

How do you feel about people who think pole dancing as a sport is inappropriate?

I think they need to watch us, and find out how gymnastics- and artistic-like it is. Pole dancing can be done in different ways, and [you can] approach the pole in a manner that’s very gymnastics-like and very smooth. My background is ballet, and if you approach it from that aspect, it becomes something totally different than if you approach it from a seductive point of view.

None of our teachers here have been strippers, and so we all have an athletic or gymnastics or ballet or fitness approach to it. There’s so much creativity in the positions and the things you can do, and you’re figuring out how your body works. It’s really not [as] seductive [as] people think it is. It can be, if that’s how you want it to be done.

What made you want to teach these kinds of classes?

I did have ballet, and I’ve always just loved dance. I started doing it for myself. I was in my 30s, and I was attracted to it. And I put a pole in my house and started playing on it, kind of figuring out what I can do and started dancing with it, and I got pretty good pretty fast, and I didn’t tell anybody, because it seems taboo. Like, “What are they going to think of me?”

And then I got to the point where I have to find someone else to do this with, because I have to feed off of somebody. So I started telling my friends, and they asked me to teach them.

Do you ever have girls come in with the intention of wanting to become a stripper?

I do have students that come in with the intention to be a stripper. Basically, they’re coming in to get comfortable with the pole before they audition, and I can certainly teach them how to do that. I can teach them spinning. I can teach them to become confident with the pole, but I know nothing of stripping, and so I can’t teach them anything but how to act confident and comfortable and move loosely around the pole so they’re not as nervous when they do audition.

What kinds of things do you teach your students?

Everything is very progressive. We start with movements of how to move on the floor, how to do leg movement, how to make your legs look more attractive, how to be more confident, how to walk more confident, how to move smoothly around the pole and how to spin. And basically we just go from these very small things.

And there’s always another step and then another step, so as they progress and build their strength they’re getting stronger within the movement and building on the same movement. So if you really break it down, we have probably 25 different movements, but you just keep building on and making them bigger.

Is it hard for people starting out?

Yes, if you want to become good. Anybody can come in and do it, but to become good, yeah, it’s really hard. It’s hard on your skin. A lot of it is just traction on the skin and gripping the pole on the right spot and finding where your core has to be or where your head has to be in order to balance it out. It is very hard. It is very challenging.

What are the benefits of taking pole-dancing classes?

Extreme toning. But that’s why strippers have good bodies, because floor work and pole work is constant toning. It burns like 400 to 500 calories an hour, and you have another aspect of it: That you’re more confident and you move different. Anytime you’re stronger or more confident, just the way you walk and you talk will become more confident.

What’s the sexiest move you’ve taught students?

I can suspend and shake my butt. So you’re pulled up on the pole suspending and pushing out and popping your hips. And I can do splits upside down. It’s pretty provocative.

Do you get a lot of thank you notes from boyfriends or husbands of students?

I had one today. It was the strangest thing. Yeah, we do. Women talk about their confidence that it brings to their relationship. And yes, men are very eager to get their women in here so they move different.

http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content?oid=1860580

Being an avid magazine buyer and reader, I found it upsetting that circulation has declined. It’s also a let down knowing that in the past recent years, unpopular magazines have been discontinued.

It makes me think about what will happen in the next upcoming century. Where will journalism go? How will journalism be in the future? Will magazines and newspapers eventually be eliminated altogether?

I honestly love reading print material. I don’t think journalism will be the same. It is always changing.

In the Sept. 14 Sacramento Bee’s “Outcry after post-art walk shooting in midtown has a familiar ring”, Ryan Lillis writes about how the Sept. 12 Second Saturday shooting has raised questions about the safety of the Second Saturday art walk.According to the article, the mayor and business leaders are discussing ways to keep the event safe, such as adding more officers to patrol the event.When did Second Saturday become an event where an innocent student gets caught in the middle of crossfire?I have been attending Second Saturday since I was 15, the age when going to events like these and shopping at the mall were the only options for weekend fun. I used to walk around with my friends, thinking I was cool and looking at all the art galleries.Since I am an avid artist and musician, I truly appreciated the culture surrounding Second Saturday.However, as the years progressed, I’ve found Second Saturday to lose the appeal it once had.Second Saturday has turned into an event where underage teenagers have an excuse to get drunk, walk around in huge crowds, and desperately look for a cool party via Facebook or Twitter where they can get even more drunk.Art? Live music? Who cares?Apparently it’s all about the most popular hipsters, parties, and cheap drinks.Don’t get me wrong; the event still occasionally manages to have great live music and art–keyword: occasionally.Although the event isn’t going to be shut down, it is obvious that something needs to change.Although a Bee review of police data shows that Second Saturdays aren’t more dangerous than any other summer Saturdays in midtown, residents are afraid that the area is losing its livability.Hopefully, this will be a lesson for Sacramento residents.

May 3, 2010
by Jamie Santiago | Staff Writer

Most people wouldn’t expect the following to be essential class materials: a pencil, a few erasers, a paper, and a naked person. Figure drawing class meets once a week and is a basic art class at City College. Students learn how to draw one of the most complex figures: a human body.

“It’s kind of at that point where they’ve drawn still life stuff and some landscape stuff and they’ve learned how to do perspective and all those things,” says figure drawing instructor Kathleen Noonan. “Drawing the figure pushed them to the next level having to see a 3-dimensional object and put it into a 2-dimensional surface.”

A nude model poses for a certain amount of time while students learn the techniques and build the skills to become better at drawing the human figure. Noonan says it is completely professional and educational. Most students who join the class are advanced and know what to expect, she says.

“I mean, I suppose to some extent it’s unusual the first time or so, but pretty soon it’s like drawing a still life,” Noonan says.

Computer graphics major Mary Grace Deleon says having to work with a nude model was awkward at first.

“At first I was a little uncomfortable with seeing nude models but, after time, you kind of ignore that they’re nude and focus on how the shape of the body is.”
Noonan says the human form and figure drawing can be seen differently throughout history. Observing the way that human figures were depicted and portrayed reflects what was happening during the time period, Noonan says.

“I think you have to go back to ancient Greece. The human form has always been interesting for people to draw because it’s them. It’s the artist. All through the ages, you can see that people have used it as a measure for humanity itself.”

Deleon says the class has helped her drawing skills and that Noonan teaches students basic techniques to help them understand the human figure.

“Professor Noonan–she teaches us not to focus on the head because it makes it un-proportional when you do the body. She really makes us focus on how the body is.”
Game design major Alan Ervin says, “I’m still kind of learning. But I know [I] did get better since when I first started.”

http://saccityexpress.com/2010/05/03/a-2-dimensional-surface/

April 19, 2010
by Jamie Santiago | Staff Writer

As an incentive to help students pay loans after graduation, the federal student loan program is changing, doubling the Pell Grant program and making sure private banks no longer issue student loans.

President Obama signed legislation March 30 for the Education Reconciliation Act of 2010. The law will save taxpayers approximately $68 billion, by cutting out banks as middlemen, the president said. This piece of legislation will also end government subsidies to banks. Instead, private companies under contracts with the Department of Education, will directly provide loans to college students.

Expanding Pell grants will help make college affordability by increasing individual grants to almost $6,000 by 2017. By 2020, 820,000 more will be added, according to Obama.

According to Financial Aid Supervisor Kimberly Cortijo, the financial aid office at City College is preparing for the upcoming changes.

“The Sacramento City College Financial Aid Office has been aware of these upcoming changes for many months now,” Cortijo said. “And because we expected that this legislation would become law, we have been preparing to make the transition from the Federal Family Educational Loan Program to the Direct Loan Program so that our students will continue to have access to student loans.”

The biggest change for students will be that they no longer have a choice of lenders to select from since they will receive loans directly from the Department of Education, Cortijo said.

According to Cortijo, the loan application process will also change, but details have yet to be finalized.

Students will have access to all facts regarding this program no later than July 1, when the law goes into effect, Cortijo said. The eligibility requirement for loans will remain unchanged; however, the benefits of borrowing may differ compared to what students may be receiving from their current lender.

“I support it. I think that’s good,” said business major Tiano Mason. “It will save me a lot of money when I get up out of here.”

http://saccityexpress.com/2010/04/19/new-lending-law-helps-college-students/

April 5, 2010
by Jamie Santiago | Staff Writer

While the City College observatory, located on top of Rodda Hall South, primarily serves as a resource to students in astronomy labs, the facility will be open April 9 to the public.

According to astronomy professor Douglas Copely, the observatory adds value to the City College community because it aids in astronomy students’ learning, while also capturing the fascination of people.

“It’s a nice opportunity to look through a very sophisticated telescope and use the resources on campus,” Copely said. “It’s quite impressive for the school that we have it, being a community college and not a university. It’s a unique opportunity for us.”

The observatory contains a large deck where students can set up telescopes, a set of small telescopes used in labs, and a main observatory telescope, which is the primary observing instrument.
According to astronomy professor and observatory coordinator Liam McDaid, the facility is a key component in educating students.

“I mean, there’s nothing more boring that I can think of than taking an astronomy lab and never going outside,” McDaid said. “It would be insufferably boring.”

City College has had an observatory almost from the college’s inception, but the present facility was built in 1976. In 2001, a new telescope replaced the outdated technology. McDaid says the new telescope is much easier to work with and can also take high quality digital pictures.

According to McDaid, clear weather conditions are necessary for optimum viewing in the observatory.
Although the air pollution in Sacramento is a bit problematic for telescope viewing, Copely said they use CCD cameras — high-powered digital cameras used specifically for photographing celestial bodies — to stack images and remove noise, which help make the images clearer. He says there is still an opportunity to do-top notch observations.

“So what we can see are bright objects — the moon, planets, brighter groups of stars, brighter nebula, and the brighter galaxies,” McDaid said.

In spite of the light pollution, McDaid said he can show people in the observatory nearly a dozen galaxies, a dozen nebula and the planets.

“The observatory is awesome,” said astronomy student and business major Eric Mills. “I mean, just the fact that we have one is cool.”

The observatory is open to the public every first Friday of the month except January and the summer months.

http://saccityexpress.com/2010/04/05/an-evening-with-the-stars/

April 5, 2010
by Jamie Santiago| Staff Writer

When some people hear the word “vegetarian,” images of green vegetables for dinner, tree-huggers, hippies, and avid PETA supporters may be what come to mind. However, the Vegetarian Club at City College is not exactly what someone might expect.

The club has only been active for two years, but it is making its mark at City College with the steady amount of members each semester. Members share recipes, stories and knowledge about the humanitarian, environmental, and health aspects of vegetarianism with each other and other students on campus.

Club President Hannah Jenks says her growing knowledge of factory farming and its environmental repercussions is what caused her to become a vegan five years ago. She enjoys being part of a group of like-minded students with similar beliefs.

“When I first got here I was like, ‘You know, I can’t be the only vegan on campus, but it sometimes feels that way.’”

Jenks says the club consists of vegetarians and vegans but is not exclusively open to them.  Even meat-eaters can join the club and those who are considering vegetarianism are always welcome to join.

“We do a little bit of getting out there and sharing information with other people. We’re not really a club to convert people or anything,” says Jenks.

The club shares information with other students about vegetarianism by having “veg-ucation” days, where they offer literature to students that shows the treatment of animals and different health aspects being a vegetarian can bring someone.

“During 2008 Campaign Proposition 2 that was going on, and that was the prevention against farm animal cruelty act. We campaigned for that. We spread news about it,” says City College student and group member Jeremy Vick.

Other activities include making trips to Farm Sanctuary, an animal protection program, vegetarian restaurants in the area, handing out pamphlets of homemade vegetarian recipes, and holding occasional bake sales on campus.

Film major Ana Ayon is a fellow vegetarian on campus and thinks it’s great to have this small community on campus.

“I think that’s awesome. People think that it’s weird to be vegetarian. It shows support.”
If you’re interested in joining the Vegetarian Club, attend the weekly meetings every Thursday from noon to 1 p.m. in Rodda Hall North 267

http://saccityexpress.com/2010/04/05/vegetarian-club-welcomes-all/

April 5, 2010
by Jamie Santiago | Staff Writer

With his mouth slightly open, David Alexander pauses mid-kick and balances a Hacky Sack in concentration, as it sits on the tip of his shoe. After slowly moving the sack to the middle of his shoe, he jerks his right leg up, quickly bends his left leg at a 90-degree angle and kicks the sack toward an alert player next to him. The player then juggles the frumpy bag and repeats likewise.

The scene is reminiscent of a midair soccer kick replayed in slow motion during a match recap. It’s intense and the participant doesn’t take it lightly—until it ends.

When it’s clear and sunny outside, some City College students gather outside City Café or Rodda Hall North or near the Quad fountain to participate in a sport that doesn’t exactly have an official team — Hacky Sack.

In a game, a foot bag — commonly known as a Hacky Sack, is kicked around individually or by a group of people. In addition to the feet, other parts of the body, such as elbows, knees, and the head can be used to hit the sack. There is one principle of the game that makes it a delight and challenge.

Do not let it hit the ground or your hands,” says Alexander, frequent Hacky Sack player and communication major.

According to Alexander, the game doesn’t start until every player in the game legally hits the sack at least once. It may sound simple, but it’s easier said than done, especially when there could be 10 or more people.

City College student Maxwell Warmington says he began playing Hacky Sack to pass time, and he notices improvement in eye-foot coordination and the use of his left foot.

“When I first played Hacky Sack I couldn’t really hit the sack with my left foot at all, and now it’s gotten a little better,” Warmington says.

Video game design major Joe Henderson says he plays approximately three times per week and has been playing since middle school. Not only does he enjoy exhibiting stylish techniques with his feet, he also enjoys the fact that Hacky Sack brings different types of people together, allowing him to make new friends and learn new things.

“The best part about Hacky Sack is everybody puts away their own predisposed likes and dislikes to play Hacky Sack,” Henderson says. “So you meet a lot of new people and then they introduce you to certain things.”

Alexander says the game is never competitive and sees it as a social gathering.

“Pretty much anyone can say, ’Hey you want to let me in on this hack?’ and they’d be happy to let you in,” Alexander says. “That’s just the sport.”

http://saccityexpress.com/2010/04/05/the-power-of-the-sack/