WESTMINSTER, Colo. — Artistic Fusion Dance Academy was a second home to Grace Baca, who had perfected her performance while making close friends since she was 2 years old.
“She had a love for dance. It was her passion,” her mom Megan Baca said. “She had friendships that developed into sisterhood, and that was something that she was really looking forward to growing up with these girls.”
Megan said there’s not a day that goes by that she doesn’t think about her daughter and the joy Grace had when she danced.
“When she danced, you could see the beauty in it because she was just really good at it,” Megan said. “She had a face that brought people captivated to watching her.”
On Oct. 8, 2022, that joy turned to sadness after Megan took Grace and her best friend Tatum Roybal out for lunch in Commerce City.
“I took her, her best friend, and my son to lunch,” Megan said. “We were at a stoplight and the next thing I know, I’m rear-ended, and I heard a scream in the back of my car, and the scream that I thought was my daughter, was not. It was her best friend.”
Megan’s car was hit from behind, and Grace suffered a traumatic brain injury that sent her into a coma. She died one month later, at 10 years old.
“She spent five long weeks fighting for her life,” Megan said. “We were told that she was brain dead and that she would not make it, and she passed away on Nov. 11.”
For Megan, the thought of losing her daughter is still tough.
“It’s something I struggle with every day,” she said. “When you lose your child it’s like you lose your legacy. You lose a part of you and who you were, and everything that I knew was about Grace.”
It was that legacy Megan wanted to live on, through her daughter's best friends at the dance studio.
So Megan partnered with Allie Herman, the CEO and owner of Dragonwing, a local athletic clothing company that designs activewear for girls. Together, they created the “Gracie Leo,” a dance leotard that’s a tribute to Grace.
“We collaborated on a leotard. She had some great ideas. Gracie loves the color pink. There’s some really cute inspiration that Megan had pulled,” Allie said. “It’s really important for me to have activewear that girls just feel great in and really can express themselves and really create a community where they can uplift and support each other.“
The Gracie Leo turned heads on the runway during Denver Fashion Week in May, and is set to make an appearance at New York Fashion Week in September. All profits from the sale of the garment will be given to the Grace Baca Foundation. The foundation, started by Megan, donates to traumatic brain injury research and awards scholarships to aspiring dancers.
“I’ve been blessed by the community to award four $1,000 scholarships to children’s dance education,” Megan said. “My hope for them is to be able to give them opportunities that they maybe wouldn’t be able to have without that scholarship and to express themselves in a way that it would shape the community.”
Megan said it’s a chance to heal through her daughter’s best friends at Artistic Fusion Dance Academy, who all want to dance with strength and Grace.
“I can see a little bit of light in such a sad, sad time,” Megan said. “And hope that they carry on her legacy and love for dance through kindness and poise."
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