Like Mother, Like Silver Dancer
By Lorne Chan
Spurs.com
Stefani Montiel may be a Grammy-nominated Tejano star, but for 16 years, she’s been upstaged over and over again by the same person:
Zavala is Montiel’s daughter, and even as a toddler she would wander on stage during her mother’s shows, striking poses and hugging fans in the front row. Zavala may be the youngest of the Silver Dancers at 18 years old, but she’s played to crowds for almost her entire life.
“She would pretty much take over the show starting all the way back to when she was 2,” Stefani Montiel said. “She grew up around performing, and it was like she was destined to do what she’s doing now.”
Mother and daughter will be on the AT&T Center court together on Sunday for Los Spurs day, when the Silver and Black face Chicago. Montiel will be singing, while her daughter provides backup.
Montiel has performed the national anthem at Spurs games before, and her cover band Lush also has played at the AT&T Center’s Overtime after games. Montiel will be back to perform at Overtime on April 3. Her daughter, meanwhile, is in her first season as a Silver Dancer.
“I’ve gotten a little better at dancing since I was 2,” Zavala said. “Once, I did a pose during a game that someone noticed looked exactly like my mom’s pose on a CD cover. I didn’t plan it or anything, it was just natural.”
Montiel has won numerous Tejano Music Awards and has been nominated for three Grammy Awards and three Latin Grammy Awards. But she said performing in front of 10,000 fans doesn’t compare to watching her daughter dance in front of a packed crowd at the AT&T Center.
“I’m so proud,” Montiel said. “It’s surreal, because even when she’s on the court, she’s still my little girl.”
When Montiel goes to Spurs games, she ends up watching the dancers more than any of the action on the floor.
“She has a dance background too, so she’ll record our routines,” Ileah said. “I think my mom notices more with my dancing than any coach ever has.”
Ileah grew up on the road, following her parents as they were on tour for about 200 days a year when she was young. Ileah’s father and Stefani’s husband Gabriel Zavala also is Stefani’ producer.
Stefani said she never wanted to push her daughter into performing, but Ileah always ended up dancing anyway. Ileah said she may follow her mother into singing some day, but for now, she’s “living a dream” as a Silver Dancer.
By the time Ileah was 16, she officially became one of Stefani’s backup dancers. She still performs with her mother sometimes, although life as a Silver Dancer has become the priority. In January, Zavala missed a game to perform with her mother on a “Tejano Legends” cruise trip to Jamaica.
When Ileah was 17, she was captain of dance team for the San Antonio Talons, an Arena Football League team.
But Ileah, who graduated from Brennan High School last year, said she still didn’t think she would make the cut for the Silver Dancers when she auditioned over summer.
Her mother had no doubt.
“I’ve been performing for years, but I’ve never seen anyone as naturally comfortable as Ileah when she’s up there,” Stefani said. “She has these big dreams, and you could always tell she was a budding superstar.”
