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
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.
Head Pointe Shoe Fitter
Olivia
Olivia is a professional dancer and teaching artist based in Minneapolis. She began her training at Hopkins Dance Company under the direction of Leslie Daly and continued her studies with summer programs including Kansas City Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, and the Gelsey Kirkland Academy of Classical Ballet. Olivia continued her formal training at the University of Cincinnati's College-Conservatory of Music, earning a degree in Ballet Performance. During her time there, she performed a range of notable works, including Gerald Arpino’s "Birthday Variations" and George Balanchine’s Serenade. From 2020 to 2022, Olivia danced as a soloist with Ballet Fantastique in Oregon, before returning to Minneapolis to join James Sewell Ballet as a company artist for the 2023–2025 seasons. She has also appeared with Minnesota Dance Theatre, performing in their spring finale "SPRING" and in Loyce Houlton’s beloved Nutcracker Fantasy. In addition to performing, Olivia is a dedicated instructor, sharing her love for ballet and pointe technique with students across the Twin Cities. She also brings her deep knowledge of pointe work to her role as Lead Pointe Shoe Fitter at Grand Jeté, where she has been fitting shoes for dancers over the years.
Retail Associate
Professional Shoe Fitter
Nora
Nora grew up dancing ballet at Pas de Deux Dance Studio in Saint Paul under the instruction of Zachari Wentz. She finished her ninth and final season with the studio in the spring of 2024. She continues dancing at the University of Minnesota, where she is earning her bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. Nora has worked at Grand Jeté for three years and is passionate about providing a comfortable and positive experience for all customers.
Bilqis
Retail Associate
Professional Shoe Fitter
Raised in Baltimore, MD, Bilqis took a variety of dance classes as a child and teen, but later focused on visual arts while cheering on her younger sibling who excelled in dance. Eventually, she found her way back to movement and performance through figure skating and has been enjoying the opportunities for adult skating that Minnesota provides. Bilqis looks forward to pursuing solo pattern dance, solo free dance, and continuing to take various dance classes just for fun and to support her skating goals.
Retail Associate
Professional Shoe Fitter
Sophie
Sophie is from Saint Paul, MN and started her dance training at age three. She has trained with Midwest Youth Dance Theater, Larkin Dance Studio, and The Movement MN, in addition to summer intensives and private lessons at Ballet Co. Laboratory. She attended Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (SPCPA) for high school, where she developed her passion for musical theater as well as dance, studying in both tracks throughout. Sophie’s two favorite shows she has performed in so far are Something Rotten at Ashland Productions and Spring Awakening with SoWashCo Summer Stock. She also had the honor of dancing in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in 2021! Sophie graduated from SPCPA in 2024 and took a gap year post high school. She spent a few months studying in Chicago and is now back in Minnesota to continue her dance and musical theater training.
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!