Peyton Richardson fell in love with ballet at 3 years old when her mom took her to see The Nutcracker. After 10 years of dedicated practice, not even her leukemia diagnosis has gotten in the way of her dream.

“Cancer has taken a lot of things from me,” Peyton, 13, tells PEOPLE. “It’s taken my hair, it’s taken some friends, it’s taken school – I won’t let it take ballet.” (Read More->)