Montes died at her home in Laguna Woods on Friday of complications from pneumonia, Oscar Nieto, a lead dancer with her company, said.
In 1955, Montes started her own company, the Los Angeles-based Lola Montes and Her Spanish Dancers. The troupe signed with Columbia Artists Management Inc. and toured the country for 22 years on the community concerts circuit. The company also appeared in Los Angeles and Orange County schools for more than 15 years under a cultural awareness program.
In 1974, the Lola Montes Foundation for Dances of Spain and the Americas was established, dedicated to preserving the cultural heritage of Hispanic dance and music.
“Twenty years ago, we only had to worry about getting an itinerary together," Montes told The Times in 1988. “Now, it's a whole new situation. It isn't just the dance steps. You need a certain amount of intelligence. There are grant proposals and filing fees to worry about. You either do it or you hang up your castanets."
During her influential career, Montes was the first American to work with the legendary Gypsy flamenco dancer Carmen Amaya.
