Senior Nancy Toregas is the recipient of the Ken Bondurant Scholarship.  She is an accomplished painter in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. 

As a teenager, Nancy was commissioned to do several custom art works and murals. She has continued her passion for art at Radford University where she will receive her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in oil painting in 2009. 

 “For me, art is very personal, and much like any other relationship that is personal, I need to feel connected to my work. I like to have a conversation of sorts with the paintings as I work. I let the canvass speak to me as to where the next mark should go or what color the next mark should be.  Many profess the cliché that art is like a journey, but for me, it’s more of an exchange between entities that search for a solution together. Sometimes the mood is calm and agreeable, sometimes it can be a debate with a lot of scraping off and wiping away the surface, and other times it is bluntly an argument between my work and me.

"Because of the nature of night, with the play on light and shadows, I’ve also immensely enjoyed rendering nightscapes. The usage of color is so different. The most fascinating part about it for me is that I don’t believe in using black, so there is no black in most of my works.

"When painting nightscapes, it can be difficult to omit the symbol of darkness and replace it with new symbols that read as darkness, new colors that resemble night. It’s fascinating to see the colors of the night when shadows are exaggerated and the mind is given license to wander simply by the presence of dark as opposed to daylight.” 

In addition to her art, Nancy is an accomplished Belly Dance performer and has performed since the age of 16.   

“Being of Greek descent, traditions are heavy within our family and belly dancing is a part of who we are culturally.”  

When she came to Radford University , she founded Hips Wanted: Belly Dance Club. It quickly became one of the most popular organizations on campus.  She voluntarily teaches 5 hours of dance classes a week and is organizing a pre-natal dance clinic for expectant mothers at a local women’s shelter.  She maintains an active performance career in addition to managing an impressive academic career and passion for art. 

The Ken Bondurant Scholarship is awarded to a student from the College of Visual and Performing Arts who demonstrates exemplary ability within the discipline.  Recipients also must hold leadership positions at Radford University and community clubs and organizations.