It’s a Tuesday afternoon after the bell rings and the dance team is getting ready for technique class during football season. For freshman Zenya Kontos, exploring what she wanted to be apart of at Niles West came to her with ease as she took advantage of her love for dance. “I knew that I wanted to be on the dance team because dance is what I love to do,” Kontos said. “I figured I’d try out as I thought it would be a fun way to meet people with a common interest, and would be a good way to gain more knowledge about team building.”

Kontos has been dancing since she was almost two years old and since then this passion of hers has only pushed her to become stronger. “I’ve been dancing for as long as I can remember,” Kontos said. Kontos is on the Dance Team, Orchesis and she takes ballet class at a studio called Dance Center Evanston.

Kontos can really bring it to the dance floor; she excels because of her confidence and energy. “Her flexibility and strength is breathtaking,” freshman Maddie Glomb said. “Zen is a really hard working dancer, and she gives it her all at every practice,” freshman Anjelica Jaime said. 

Kontos has taken inspiration from many people including her grandmother, who was the only female student in the architecture program at the university she attended. She eventually had to drop out of her dream classes so she could care for her brother after her parents had passed away. Kontos hopes to follow her grandmother’s footsteps by being involved in environmental architecture and envisions herself entering that field in the future.

When it comes to being back in school, it is definitely a huge change after the pandemic. “Honestly for me, as well as many others, I’ve forgotten how to properly socialize with people. Fortunately, between clubs, dance team and my classes, I’ve found a lot of amazing people with similar interests that I can easily talk to. Another thing is actually taking time and properly studying for tests, as they aren’t all ‘open note’ anymore,” Kontos said. 

Kontos is also looking forward to joining Niles West Greek Club. Outside of school, Kontos likes to make beaded jewelry, listen to music and of course, dance. She has many favorite bands and artists she shows interest in. “At the moment, I’ve been really into the Foo Fighters! They’re my favorite band, and my favorite song of theirs is called ‘My Hero.’ If you’re into rock I would definitely recommend them! And if you’re into rock, you should definitely also check out Tiny Moving Parts as well. Another artist I am really into is Løren. He’s a Korean rock artist with covers on his Instagram and two songs out,” Kontos said. 

In the future, Kontos’s aspirations are to continue her journey with dancing and to become involved in environmental architecture. The dancing community at Niles West is surrounded by hard working dancers who work to achieve their goals. In this category, we have Kontos. It is no question that Kontos will strive to reach her goals, living by her favorite mantra: “Every day might not be good, but you can find something good in every day.”