How did Lemoore’s award-winning dance studio for children begin?

LEMOORE, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – For a pair of lifelong dancing students, opening up a dance studio is a dream come true, but opening one in the city of Lemoore has been all the more rewarding.

Savanna Mangum and Siena Simas met as children, growing up in dance classes and eventually teaching in the same studio where they grew up.

“We decided to make our move out of that studio,” Simas said. “We taught at my garage at my house.”

The two taught classes for free as they began to make a name for themselves.

“We called it Pop-Up Dance Sesh,” Mangum said. “Things were going really good.”

Eventually, Mangum says she and Simas decided to open up their own studio in Lemoore, where the two of them come from.

Mangum and Simas created their own LLC, The Movement Factory, got insured as a business and signed a contract with the Lemoore Recreations Center.

“Hanford has multiple dance studios that are thriving and doing well,” Mangum said. “The Movement Factory is the only dance studio that is in Lemoore.”

In 2024, The Movement Factory was voted the best dance studio in Kings County by the Hanford Sentinel. Simas says having the opportunity to empower young dancers makes all the time, hard work and money she and Mangum have invested in The Movement Factory well worth it.

“It’s really cool to watch the kids come in and grow with us,” Simas said. “We had our recital last year, and [one student] went on stage and she was terrified, then our last performance in December, she was able to get up in front of the big audience.”

The Movement Factory is located inside the Lemoore Recreation Center at 721 W Cinnamon Drive. Mangum and Simas say they teach a variety of styles of dance to people of all ages and hope to continue to do so at an affordable price for the community.

“We’re helping create a sense of confidence in our dancers,” Simas said. “We really want to provide community and self-esteem building for our young dancers and the older ones.”