Popular Wichita dance studio adds new location, this time outside of the city

Last time we checked in with Jana Owen and her Midwest Dance Mechanix, she was adding 6,000 square feet to her 4,400-square-foot studio at 37th and Hydraulic.

Now, she’s adding another 6,000-square-foot building, but this time it’s in Andover.

“I really would love to offer dance opportunities there.”

Owen said she’s not aware of any other private dance studios in Andover except the one that used to be in the space she’s taking at 541 S. Riverview St., by the Holiday Inn Express & Suites East Wichita.

“It was a really easy and natural fit.”

Owen said she’d already been thinking about ways to offer more opportunities for dancers and more scheduling flexibility for parents when the building became available.

“Our space here is a little bit maxed out,” she said of 37th and Hydraulic.

It’s an unexpected problem Owen has had since opening the business in 2010 in Valley Center. She keeps expanding, and then she keeps needing to again.

At the new Andover studio, Owen will offer tap, ballet, hip hop, lyrical, point and contemporary dance instruction for ages 18 months through adults.

Fall class enrollment is happening now, and classes start Sept. 15.

There will be an open house from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday to show off the new space and introduce instructors. There also will be face painting, balloon animals and free goody bags for the first 100 dancers who enroll that day.

Owen said she likes for students to be able to do something with the training they receive through her classes, which she said are fun and encouraging but also provide a strong technical foundation for them to explore what they can achieve.

“Our mission has always been to provide a really strong foundation for dancers to then take off and discover what really fuels their passion.”