A 12-year-old girl who lost her leg to cancer defied all odds and performed a sensational dance that saw her doing pirouettes and back bends across the stage.
In 2014, Valory Newton was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, which is a form of bone cancer. Doctors told the avid dancer the only way to prevent the cancer from spreading was to amputate the limb.
Valory, from Walbridge, Ohio, did not let her battle with cancer stop her from dancing. Instead, she returned to classes at 10 years old once she received scans showing no new growths with her cancer.
Inspiring: Valory Newton, 12, lost her leg to bone cancer a few years ago. But the avid dancer returned to the stage and performed a breathtaking routine
Stunning: Her solo to a remix of Skyscraper featured a back bend, round-off cartwheel and pirouettes
Survivor: Doctors told Valory they would need to amputate her left leg in order to prevent the bone cancer from spreading to other parts of the body
In a sensational video posted on the dancer’s Instagram, she demonstrated her exceptional training and ability to perform on just one leg.
The dance – choreographed to a remix of Skyscraper – showed off Valory’s tremendous core strength as she is able to balance on one leg before doing a round-off cartwheel.
Valory first started her solo with her crutches to help propel her body in beautiful pirouettes towards the back half of the stage.
Once she finished turning, she placed the crutches on the ground and balanced on one leg with her arm outstretched.
Breathtaking: Valory started her dance routine with her crutches before placing them on the ground to demonstrate her core strength
Fighter: The tween, who is pictured with dance teacher Megan Alfonso, returned to the dance floor after she received a negative scan to confirm there were no new growths
Then with tremendous strength, Valory is able to do a back bend and shoot her right leg over so she lands on her stomach.
The video clip continued as Valory pulled herself up to do other stunts with the help of her crutches.
Commenters praised the dancer on her video that was posted on Instagram calling her an inspiration and a beautiful dancer.
Nia Sioux – a dancer who rose to fame on Dance Moms – even praised Valory by posting the video on her own Instagram account and called the young girl a ‘role model’ to everyone.
Amazing: Valory was back in the studio less than a year after her left leg was amputated
Star performer: Her love of dance inspired her to keep dancing after battling the cancer
She wrote: ‘Although her journey to full recovery is not yet over, she has plans for lots of dancing.
‘Her passion and determination are truly moving, and I think we can all learn so much from her.’
When Valory was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in November 2014, she continued to dance while battling chemotherapy and the tumor in her left leg.
She kept that same spirit throughout her diagnosis and started dancing around her hospital room the day after her leg was amputated in 2015.
Now three years later, Valory has shown how her fighting spirit and resilience brought her back to the competition stage to perform a contemporary solo.
‘You are such an inspiration! Thank you for being fearless!’ One person commented on her video.