The granddaughter of a local couple is dancing professionally with the Carolina Ballet.

Randi Osetek, granddaughter of Phiz and Russ Olson of Albert Lea and Mrs. Ted Osetek of Arkansas (formerly of Albert Lea), has danced with the Carolina Ballet since 2002 as a member of the corps de ballet. Her parents, Tom and Nancy Osetek, are both 1971 graduates of Albert Lea High School.

Randi Osetek was born in Albuquerque, N.M. but grew up in Chicago and Green Bay, Wis., before accepting a three-year scholarship to study at the School of American Ballet in New York City.

She completed her training with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle where she performed regularly with the professional company. She had roles in &8220;Cinderella,&8221; &8220;Ballet Imperial,&8221; &8220;Don Quixote,&8221; &8220;Serenade&8221; and &8220;The Four Temperaments.&8221;

Osetek has made guest appearances in Russia Ballet Theater&8217;s &8220;Nutcracker&8221; and in Balanchine&8217;s &8220;Nutcracker&8221; staged in Stamford, Conn.

With Carolina Ballet, Osetek regularly performs soloist roles from the company&8217;s growing repertoire, including Balanchine&8217;s &8220;Divertimento No. 15,&8221; &8220;Agon,&8221; Weiss&8217; &8220;Swan Lake,&8221; &8220;Cinderella,&8221; &8220;Symposium&8221; and &8220;Firebird.&8221;

In December, she performed a featured role in the ballet of her youth, Northeastern Wisconsin Dance Organization&8217;s &8220;Green Bay Nutcracker Ballet.&8221; The Green Bay Press-Gazette described her solo in &8220;Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy as magical. &8220;She held the crowd spellbound.&8221;

Of her performance in &8220;Raymonda Variations,&8221; the North Carolina Independent Weekly wrote, &8220;Randi Osetek was impressive in &8216;Variation VII.&8217; She and Samantha Boik, another tall blonde, were striking together in group the dances, which were carried out with great elan.&8221;

Phiz Olson said they try to catch a ballet performance by their granddaughter whenever they are visiting their daughter and her husband, who currently live in North Carolina.