About Us
We're Grand Jeté, the dance store where personalized service and expertise take center stage.
Our customers are always the principal dancers.
Grand Jeté has served the Minnesota and Upper Midwest dance community from our Grand Avenue storefront in Saint Paul since 1983. Beginning in 2022, we’ve brought our personalized dance shoe fittings to YOU through our mobile fittings service. Whether you work with us in person, over the phone, or using our brand new webstore, we’re very proud to partner with you on your dance journey.
We believe that every body is a dance body, and every dance body deserves to feel supported by their dance shoes and garments. From the tiniest toddlers to adults at all stages of life; from beginners of all ages to professionals; in ballet, ballroom, tap, jazz, modern, agility, circus, liturgical, folk dance, drag, cosplay—name a dance style and we’ve probably helped a dancer outfit for it. And if you feel best dancing in the privacy of your own kitchen, we can still help you live your balletcore/80s aerobics/Black Swan fashion dreams. After all, grippy dance socks are good for tile floors, too.
Who We Are
Grand Jeté staff have all been trained as professional shoe fitters. Dancer health and career longevity is of primary importance to us, so we take our time to find the shoe that will best serve your dance goals.
Solveig
Director of Operations
Solveig grew up dancing in the Twin Cities, studying ballet and the Vaganova method, as well as jazz, at St. Paul Ballet (SPB). She graduated from Augsburg College with a degree in Music Education, both vocal and instrumental, and completed a PhD in Historical Musicology at the University of Minnesota. Music and dance have always been major aspects of Solveig’s life.
Solveig has shopped at Grand Jeté her whole life, and she developed a relationship with Ruthena Fink, the founder of Grand Jeté, both through the store and through dancing with her at SPB. Solveig has always had a great amount of respect for Ruthena, recognizing that Grand Jeté has a very important place in the dance community. She sees Grand Jeté as a place where different people can come together, from different dance styles and backgrounds, and enter into a common experience outside of their own studio or community. As Director of Operations, Solveig now seeks to continue the legacy of Grand Jeté and its role in the dance community. When she’s not at Grand Jeté, Solveig is probably with her three-year-old son, cooking, knitting, reading, playing Wordle or playing/studying music!
Store Manager
Social Media Manager
Mobile Sales Manager
Professional Shoe Fitter
Grace
Grace grew up in South Dakota and began taking ballet classes at age four. She continued dancing through high school, taking ballet, tap, jazz and pointe at the Johnny Cavelle Dance Studio, and completed her Cecchetti exams through Grade IV. After college, she began ballroom dancing and immediately fell in love with the art form as well as with Dancesport and competing. Having a passion for sharing her love of dance and teaching as well as performing, Grace began as an instructor at Cinema Ballroom in 2015, where she continues to teach full time and compete both with students and with her professional partner across the United States. Grace and her students have won several top student and top teacher awards, and she and her pro partner won Rising Star Smooth at Heart of America in August of 2022.
Merchandising Manager
Professional Shoe Fitter
Olivia
Born and raised in Minneapolis Minnesota, Olivia trained at Hopkins Dance Company for 15 years under the direction of Leslie Daly. Olivia’s pre-professional training included summer programs with Milwaukee Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, and the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet. After graduating in 2018, Olivia continued her dance education at The University of Cincinnati-College Conservatory of Music. Majoring in Ballet Performance, Olivia had the privilege to dance roles in Gerald Arpino’s Birthday Variations, Cinderella, Balanchine’s Serenade, and several other modern pieces. In 2020, Olivia joined Ballet Fantastique as an Apprentice for the 2020-2021 season and continued dancing with Ballet Fantastique as a Company Corps in 2021-2022. During her time in Eugene Oregon, Olivia managed Dancers Closet, a dancewear and shoe store. Her main position at this store was fitting new and experienced dancers for pointe shoes. Olivia had 2 years of professional pointe shoe fitting experience before joining the GJ team and has loved continuing her work at Grand Jeté.
Retail Associate
Professional Shoe Fitter
Nora
Nora has lived in Saint Paul, MN all her life. She grew up experimenting with many different forms of dance, but eventually found a love for ballet. Nora started dancing at Pas De Deux Dance Studio in 2015, under her instructor Zachari Wetz, and she will be starting her ninth season there in the fall of 2023. In addition to ballet, Nora has experimented with hip hop and is interested in taking contemporary dance classes.
Retail Associate
Professional Shoe Fitter
Charlotte
Charlotte is from Saint Paul, Minnesota. She grew up dancing at Saint Paul Ballet and has trained in ballet since she was three years old. Charlotte danced at Ballet Co.Laboratory throughout high school and spent the last year in Missouri at a college dance conservatory, training in ballet and modern dance. Charlotte is excited to be back at Ballet Co.Laboratory as a trainee for the 2023/24 season while she pursues her degree in Psychology at the University of Minnesota.
We're always available as a resource for you—give us a call, email us, or stop by the store with any dancewear needs or questions!