Andrea Montez
Head of Choreography & Raddettes Coach
Andrea has been part of the Nancy Raddatz family for over 25 years, starting lessons when she was 3 years old. Her studies at the studio included Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Modern, Hip Hop, Ballet, and Pointe. She was awarded Student of the Year in 2004. Outside of the studio, she continued her studies through summer camps, Modern classes at the University of MN, and still taking pick up classes throughout the Twin Cities as an adult.
Andrea was part of the Henry Sibley Dance Team in high school. She made the Varsity team her Freshman year and was always a part of the performance line up for both Kick and Jazz, lettering each year. She held both formal and informal leadership roles in the team – including being on the Choreography Team. Her and her team were accomplished – winning Conference Champions and qualifying for state twice, where she performed at the Xcel Center. She was awarded All Conference Honorable Mention during her time on the team.
Andrea has been teaching for 15 years. At Nancy’s, she has taught almost everything – Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Hip Hop, and Dance Team classes. She has taught for Hamline University’s All Sports Camp. She added “coach” to her title as the Head B-Squad Coach for the Henry Sibley Dance Team for 3 years, where her team out-performed and out-placed JV teams within the conference. While she has taught all ages, her focus is on Middle School and High School students.
Andrea’s passion is working with young dancers to help them find their inner showstopper, inspiring them to achieve more than they thought they could. Her approach is a balance of hard work, confidence-building, and FUN! She works hard to instill proper technique and practice habits in her dancers, as those are the building blocks for their success. She believes in holding them to higher standards than they hold themselves, as (usually) they are the one standing in their own way. While the journey is filled with fun, games, and sweat – lots of sweat, the greatest part is sharing in the celebration of reaching accomplishments, conquering new things, and shattering goals.
Andrea was excited to return to Raddatz Dance in January 2022 as the coach of the new Raddettes Performance Team! She will continue to coach the Raddettes this season and has become the Raddatz Dance Head of Choreography.