“I’ve always been a member of the church. I was married there, my boys were baptized there, and my husband’s buried there,” said the 1965 Meadowdale High School graduate. She went to Ohio State University after high school, graduated as a dental hygienist, got married, and moved to Xenia. Her husband died in 1993, but she still commutes to church services, and now adds dance practice to her church schedule.
“I grew up learning Greek dances. There was always traditional dancing at weddings and other functions.
“Nine years ago, a friend and I decided to join the church’s senior dance group,” she said, noting that the church has four dance groups — one for elementary age children, one for junior high, one for high school, and the senior group. “Our group’s name is Ellas, which means ‘Greek.’
“There weren’t many men in the group, so I asked my son, Dean, to join. He did, and is 38 now and still in the group. He met his wife there, and she’s still dancing with the group.”
Although her other son, Marc, danced in the youngest group as a child, he’s no longer a member, but his two daughters are in the junior high and high school groups. “It’s definitely become a family thing.”
The senior group’s members range in age from 18-72.
“We practice every week and are now in practice for the church’s Greek Festival,” Margioras said.
In addition to the annual Dayton Greek Festival, the senior group performs at the International Festival, nursing homes, elementary schools, and the Middletown Greek Festival.
The women select and purchase their own costumes, “but the men wear traditional men’s Greek dress, which include short skirts,” Margioras noted. “They’re really very sexy, and women always want to get pictures of them.”
The senior group has about 21 dancers.
“We just picked up three new members, and it’s a thrill to see them as they enter, knowing nothing, but are seasoned dancers by the next season. It just seems to be part of our heart and soul,” she said.
In October, Margioras will marry Gus Kontonickas, a widower, in the church. Although she knew Kontonickas, who graduated from Colonel White in 1964, she hadn’t seen him in years until a friend and a cousin got them together in January.
“He went to church when he was young, and is now back,” she said. “He’s very comfortable there, because we have so many mutual friends at the church.”
Kontonickas won’t be joining the dance group because “his knees are too bad,” according to Margioras. “But, he’s a good dancer, and he’ll absolutely be dancing at the wedding — although he may have to take a few extra Aleve.”