SAN ANTONIO — Jackie Lopez has spent decades inspiring generations of dancers at Barbara & Tammy’s School of Dance . Now, those same students and community members are rallying behind her as she faces the toughest battle of her life.

Lopez, the executive director of the long-standing dance school, has been living with metastatic colon cancer for more than two years . Despite undergoing radiation treatment to her brain, pelvis and neck, she continues to lead with grace and resilience — both inside and outside the studio.

“I love dancing and I love being able to share the knowledge of what I do,” Lopez said. “A lot of my students go off to do great things: become doctors, become dance teachers.”

One of those students is Bianca Valadez, who has trained under Lopez for nearly 14 years.

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