Paige Larson, owner of Raise the Barre ballet studio, has spent much of the last two decades teaching ballet and is an inspiration to a new generation of dancers. “I am now at the point that I can teach the children of my dancers that I taught when they were three,” she said.
Paige and her husband, Aaron, opened the studio in the spring of 2021. Raise the Barre is solely a classical ballet studio, offering classes for ages 3 and up for all genders, races, and body types.
According to Larson, it is “a safe space for everyone to explore and appreciate the art form that is ballet while being in an encouraging and judgment-free atmosphere. It is our belief that ballet is for everyBODY and we aim to make it so by making classes affordable and accessible.”
Once the Larsons decided they wanted to start their own school, they applied to lease the Danish Bakery Building, close to where they live, and then did the work to remodel the space into a dance studio.
“Through opening a business in West Duluth, the West Duluth Business Club (WDBC) welcomed us to the community. It was quite the buzz in our business district because the iconic Danish Bakery building had been vacant for twenty years. All of a sudden, there were lights on in the building and trucks hauling in flooring.”
She added, “I became a WDBC member and then saw many ways I could help the club. I became a board member and then the club secretary. I help manage their communications, schedule guest speakers, and support Spirit Valley Days. I love volunteering for the organization and getting more involved in the community where I live and work.”
From Baby Ballerina to Master Teacher
Relating her earliest recollections of dancing, she explained, “My sisters were in a dance class, and I would watch. According to my parents, when we went home, I was dancing all by myself in the back bedroom. I said I was ‘Beeing a beena’ (being a ballerina).” Her parents started her in ballet classes when she was three years old.
As the years went by, Paige and her parents looked for class options outside of Spooner, Wisconsin, where they lived, including ballet and jazz classes in Rice Lake and Hayward. She then went on with her studies in Duluth at the School of the Minnesota Ballet, requiring her parents to drive the 170 miles round trip several times a week.
In her years as a student, Paige performed and toured with the company in Swan Lake, Giselle, and The Nutcracker.
“My mom was always my champion. She also looked into other opportunities for me,” said Larson. “I trained with summer intensives at North Carolina School of the Arts, the Joffrey Ballet School in New York, and the Boston Ballet.”
By the time she was a junior/senior in high school, she was dancing solo roles with the Minnesota Ballet. “I got the knowledge that I needed for my career path by taking any opportunities I had in my youth to train so that when it came to graduation time, I was ready to be a professional ballerina. I also had the opportunity to start teaching ballet in a dance school that my sister opened in Spooner.”
“At the young age of 18, I was co-running a studio in Wisconsin, dancing professionally with a contract with the American Ballet Company, and taking any teaching/choreography gigs on the side to make it as an artist.” Tragically, a serious car accident sidelined her career as a professional ballet dancer.
Later, when she was able to dance again, she decided that when the Duluth Playhouse was putting on the musical Cats, she wanted to be in the show and was cast.
Taking a role in Cats at the Duluth Playhouse opened a lot of doors for her. “I started auditioning for Playhouse shows, then dance captaining, then assisting choreography, to full-on choreographing shows,” she explained. “Then I got into the education program there, teaching classes and choreographing children’s shows.”
She went on to numerous dancing and choreographing gigs for several Playhouse shows. She has also choreographed for several area schools and arts organizations.
She reconnected with the Minnesota Ballet, teaching a variety of classes, including an adult program, and eventually took the role of Outreach Coordinator. She was also cast in the Playhouse production of A Chorus Line, playing a lead role and assisting the director, Christine Seitz.
“There are so many shows I’ve done, but Pippin for Lundeen Productions was so much fun to perform in with so many different dance styles and a new group of theater people that I met!”
“In all honesty, the arts have been my entire life. I started dancing when I was 3 and just never looked back. I couldn’t imagine my life any other way,” Larson noted.
Life Outside the Studio
“We have two dogs and two cats. My job doesn’t leave me with a lot of free time, but when I do get some time, I love taking my dogs to different trails and the Lakewalk. I also love spending time in my kitchen baking!”
Larson also appreciates the arts scene in the area. “I feel that the Twin Ports has a small town feel with big city experiences. We have so many opportunities for kids and adults to be involved, not only in dance, but in theater, art, and music.”
