Katie is the Owner and Director of Jeté Dance Centre. She started dancing as a toddler and has continued dancing every single year of her life. Katie started teaching in middle school and has continued her teaching including both in studio and as a dance team coach along the way. JDC has been serving the Rogers area for the past 13 years. Katie and her students have been extraordinarily successful, winning choreography awards, studio awards and National Championships. Katie loves teaching every age from our youngest dancers at 14 months through our adults. She is honored to watch her dancers grow up before her eyes and loves watching their love for dance flourish.

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Dani will be back for her 2nd year of teaching in the Recreation Program at Jeté Dance Centre.  Passionate about her students, Dani often speaks of how she never knew what was missing from her life until she started teaching dance.  Dani and all 3 of her children love to dance and are happy to call JDC their home! She looks forward to sharing her love of movement with you and your dancer this year!

At the age of 3, Kara began dancing at a studio in Plymouth, Minnesota . While there, she studied ballet, tap, lyrical and jazz. She continued dancing at the studio until she graduated from high school. During college, Kara was a part of the Saint Mary’s University Performance and Competition Dance Teams. After college, Kara returned to her original dance studio for two years until Jeté Dance Centre opened in 2007. She is very happy to call Jeté Dance Centre her new “dance home”. Kara graduated from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in Winona, with B.A.s in Accounting and in Management – Entrepreneurship. She currently works as an accountant at a CPA firm in Eden Prairie.

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Nikki began dancing at the age of 2 and her passion for dance has kept her dancing for over 30 years. She has studied under amazing teachers like Teresa Rolf, Corrie Rolf, John Hallahan, Joe Lanteri, Suzi Taylor, Ray Leeper, and countless others. Nikki’s performance experience includes The Chorus Line, Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and perfomances all around the US. Nikki’s choreography has won Top Scores and Choreography Awards all over the United States. Her students were exclusively invited and performed at the Olymipic Venues in Sydney, Australia at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Currently Nikki has students dancing professionally all over the world including Costa Rica, LA, New York, Orlando, Minneapolis, traveling with NYCDA, and several cruise lines. She is very excited to work with all the wonderful students here at JDC.

Ayumi is an educator, choreographer, and mover who has been an active dance artist in Minnesota since 2013. Originally from California, Ayumi has been teaching for over 14 years in various cities including, Los Angeles, San Francisco (BA, San Francisco State University 2009), Eugene (MFA, University of Oregon 2013), and Minneapolis. In 2014, Ayumi co-founded DanceBARN Collective, a nonprofit organization that is committed to bringing dance experiences to rural and underserved communities, building community engagement, fostering collaborations, and providing support for dance artists. This is Ayumi’s 8th season with JDC teaching in both the Recreation and Competitive programs.

Michelle Began her dancing career at age 3 with tap and ballet. From ages 11-18 moved to competitive dance winning many high-point and over-all awards in jazz, tap, ballet, hip-hop and musical theatre. This included both regional and national competitions.

Michelle has been teaching professionally for 20 years. Accomplishments include many awards in the area of high-score and over-alls. Styles of dance include jazz, tap, ballet, contemporary hip-hop and musical theatre. Additionally, have won numerous awards for entertainment and choreography.

Outside industrial work includes travelling with Rocco Altobelli, dancing for Polaris and appearing on Broadway in the Gershwin musical "Crazy For You".

Maddie began dancing with Jeté Dance Centre at 10 years old, starting in the Recreational program and progressing into Competition soon after. Throughout her years as a JDC dancer, Maddie participated in groups, solos, and duets/trios and earned numerous overall placements, judges awards, and scholarships to renowned training facilities such as Steps on Broadway and Joffrey Ballet in New York City. Passionate about both children and dancing, she has found her niche in teaching through working with dancers of all ages in both the competition and recreational programs. Currently she is attending the College of Saint Benedict studying Elementary Education and is also a member of the nationally ranked CSB competition dance team. 

Born and raised in Minnesota, Anne started dancing at Hopkins Dance Center being trained in tap, jazz, lyrical, musical theater, ballet, and pointe. With much passion for ballet, Anne joined the Hopkins Youth Ballet for 8 years where she performed productions of Swan Lake, Giselle, Dracula, and the Nutcracker. Anne went on to assist and teach for 2 years while attending the University of Minnesota. She earned a degree in dance and sociology. She has also trained at TU dance, Daara dance, Arena dances and was an intern at Ballet Co.Laboratory. She is happy to be apart of the JDC family. 

Kristen is returning for her 5th season as part of the JDC Office Staff. She has a Bachelor’s in Business Management as well as a background in Customer Service and Business Administration. Kristen loves working at the studio getting to know all of our wonderful JDC families and watching our dancer’s excitement as they learn and grow! Kristen lives in Otsego with her husband and three children. In her free time, Kristen enjoys spending time with family, going on adventures together, and being involved in one of the many activities her kids are apart of including dance, school groups, and scouts. 

Alyssa grew up dancing at a local Minnesota studio, competing at both regional and national competitions. She also had a place on her high school and college dance teams. Graduating from Gustavus Adolphus College, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in both Dance, and Sociology/Anthropology. She is extensively trained in modern, ballet, jazz, tap, musical theater, and lyrical. Her favorite style of dance to choreograph is tap! Alyssa is thrilled to be part of the JDC community for her 9th season. She brings a combination of experience, training, enthusiasm, and passion for working with our students.

Sarah has been with JDC since the very beginning, welcoming dancers and guests from the front desk as they enter the lobby. She is a K-5 Music teacher at Otsego Elementary. She is a very proud leap year baby with a passion for everything Disney! When she isn't teaching or at the desk, you can find her in the adults dance class or driving around town in her yellow VW Beetle, Daisy. Be sure to say Hi! to Sarah when you see her!

Emily has been dancing since she was two years old. She started competing at the age of 6 at Jeté Dance Centre. She found a passion for dance and continued dancing and competing throughout high school and into her college years. Emily also spent many years apprenticing and teaching. She has been trained in ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary, pointe, musical theater, and hip hop. Emily attends school at the College of Saint Benedict where she competed on their dance team and is pursuing a major in nursing. She is excited for a fun year at Jeté Dance Centre.

Brittney Schmidt has been with Jeté Dance Centre since 2009. You’ll find her at the front desk and at all the shows and competitions cheering on our dancers. Brittney and her husband Tyler have two kids, Emilia and Case. They enjoy seeing their daughters love for dance grow at JDC, and are grateful for the relationships they’ve created.

bio coming soon...