09/14/2026
29 students.
One 1,500-square-foot room.
One vision.
And nearly a quarter-century later — a Legacy.
When Dr. Terry Jackson opened her dance studio in in November 2002, there was no sprawling facility with multiple dance rooms.
There were just 29 students in a single 1,500-square-foot space.
Today, Legacy Dance Studio has grown to more than 20,000 square feet with four large dance rooms, while providing generations of young people with opportunities through dance.
But the story behind why Jackson started teaching may be just as important as what she eventually built.
In a 2015 CityLife profile, Jackson explained that her inspiration stretched all the way back to childhood.
She loved dance.
But she didn’t have the opportunity to learn it as a child.
Years later, she created the opportunity she once wished she’d had.
And what started with 29 students grew into something much larger.
But if you think Dr. Terry Jackson’s story is simply about dance…
You haven’t heard the whole story.
Because while Jackson spent more than two decades building Legacy, she was simultaneously building another extraordinary career in nursing, healthcare and higher education.
She served six years in the United States Air Force Reserve.
Spent more than two decades in nursing.
Became an acute-care nurse practitioner.
Earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
Joined the faculty of Northwestern State University.
Received one of Shreveport’s significant arts honors.
Built a dance institution from one room into more than 20,000 square feet.
Created opportunities for young people.
Raised a family.
Mentored others.
Served through Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
And eventually stepped into civic leadership through the Shreveport Women’s Commission.
Takeover TV went beyond the dance studio to take a deeper look at the woman behind the name.
What we found was a story about much more than dance.
It’s the story of a woman who didn’t have the opportunity to learn dance as a child — and spent much of her adult life making sure others did.
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💃🏾 SHE BUILT THE OPPORTUNITY SHE NEVER HAD
Jackson’s connection to dance didn’t begin with a business plan.
It began with something she missed as a child.
In 2015, while discussing what was then Christian Dance Center, Jackson told CityLife that she had always loved dance but hadn’t had the opportunity to learn it growing up.
That experience eventually became motivation.
Instead of allowing the opportunity she missed to remain part of her past, Jackson created one for somebody else’s child.
Her studio opened in November 2002 with just 29 students in one 1,500-square-foot room.
From that modest beginning grew what is now Legacy Dance Studio.
Today, the facility encompasses more than 20,000 square feet with four large dance rooms.
Its instruction has included ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, hip-hop, contemporary and modern dance, liturgical dance, tumbling, private instruction and performance training.
Students have ranged from young children to adults.
Legacy describes its mission as discovering and developing talent while building confidence, discipline and self-esteem through positive influences.
And its motto captures the philosophy:
“REACHING SOULS THROUGH DANCE.”
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🩰 OPENING A DOOR THROUGH BALLET
One part of Legacy’s impact deserves special attention.
Over its history, the studio says it has introduced thousands of African American children to ballet.
For generations, access and representation within classical ballet haven’t always reflected the communities surrounding the art form.
Jackson helped create another door.
And knowing her own childhood story gives that accomplishment additional meaning.
A little girl who loved dance but didn’t have the opportunity to learn it grew up and created a place where thousands of children could.
Dance became about more than producing performers.
It became a vehicle for confidence, perseverance, teamwork, respect, leadership and self-expression.
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🏆 SHREVEPORT’S ARTS COMMUNITY TOOK NOTICE
The impact was recognized early.
In 2004, only two years after the studio opened, Jackson was selected as the Shreveport Regional Arts Council Artist Fellowship recipient in Dance.
Legacy was still in its infancy.
Yet Jackson’s work as an artist was already being recognized by Shreveport’s arts community.
The studio itself would continue growing and later earn recognition among ThreeBestRated’s recommended dance schools in Shreveport.
But Jackson wasn’t building only one career.
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🇺🇸 BEFORE THE DOCTORATE — SHE SERVED HER COUNTRY
Before Dr. Jackson.
Before the 20,000-square-foot dance facility.
There was military service.
Jackson served six years in the United States Air Force Reserve and was honorably discharged in 1998.
It’s a chapter many people who know her through dance may never have known.
And it wouldn’t be the last time she balanced several worlds simultaneously.
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👩🏾⚕️ TWO CAREERS — AT THE SAME TIME
Legacy wasn’t something Jackson built after completing another career.
She built both careers simultaneously.
Northwestern State University credits Jackson with 23 years of nursing experience, including 13 years working in a cardiac catheterization laboratory at Christus.
Her healthcare background also includes telemetry, medical-surgical nursing and home health.
While dancers were walking into Legacy…
While classes were being taught…
While recitals were being rehearsed…
While the studio was expanding…
Jackson was caring for patients.
And she kept going academically.
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🎓 FROM NURSE TO NURSE PRACTITIONER TO DR. JACKSON
In May 2016, Jackson earned her Master of Science in Nursing from Northwestern State University.
She became a certified Adult-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner.
Then she went back again.
In December 2019, Jackson earned her:
DOCTOR OF NURSING PRACTICE.
The woman building dancers was simultaneously reaching the highest levels of nursing education.
And then she began helping educate future nurses.
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🍎 TEACHING IN TWO DIFFERENT CLASSROOMS
Jackson joined Northwestern State University’s nursing faculty in Shreveport.
Her university biography identifies her as a fourth-level coordinator who has taught pathophysiology and clinical nursing.
NSU has also listed her as an Assistant Professor of Nursing, and she has served as a nursing academic adviser.
That gave Jackson two very different classrooms.
One taught movement, discipline and performance.
The other taught pathophysiology, clinical education and patient care.
Different subjects.
Same commitment to developing people.
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❤️ AND SHE WAS BUILDING A FAMILY, TOO
Behind the professional titles was another part of Jackson’s life.
Wife.
Mother.
Jackson balanced family life while growing a business, working in healthcare, continuing her education, teaching future nurses and serving her community.
She wasn’t waiting for one chapter to end before beginning another.
She was building them together.
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❤️ LEGACY BECAME MORE THAN A BUSINESS
Over time, Legacy’s reach expanded beyond traditional paid dance instruction.
Through Make A Difference Dance, Inc. — MADD — opportunities have included free summer dance classes, scholarships, workshops, master classes and performances for young people.
Legacy has also participated in community events including the Red River Revel.
And in 2022, when one Legacy family faced a serious medical crisis, Jackson used the studio’s community reach to help.
She organized an online fundraiser for the family of a Legacy student who needed another bone-marrow transplant.
The campaign raised $3,132 through 62 donations toward the family’s stated $4,000 need.
That’s when Legacy starts meaning more than the name on a building.
It becomes a community.
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🌟 TAKING DANCE BEYOND THE STUDIO
Jackson has continued finding ways to expose dancers to experiences beyond weekly classes.
She helped bring actor and choreographer Darrin Henson to Shreveport for hip-hop master classes.
Legacy has developed dancers through performances, competitions, recitals and community appearances.
And the outreach continued.
In 2025, Caddo Parish Parks and Recreation partnered with Legacy Dance Studio for Grace in Motion, a youth dance program serving ages 4 through 18, with Jackson serving as instructor.
More than two decades after those first 29 students entered her studio, she was still putting dance in front of young people.
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💃🏾 BRINGING DANCE BACK TO THE ADULTS
Eventually Jackson expanded the vision in another direction.
During trips to New York, she would dance simply for herself.
For enjoyment.
For movement.
For the feeling dance gave her.
Then she wondered:
Why not bring that feeling home?
In 2024, Legacy expanded its adult offerings with hip-hop, jazz, heels and urban ballroom.
The emphasis wasn’t simply choreography.
It was movement, fitness, community and mental wellness.
In some ways, the program brought together the two worlds Jackson had spent decades navigating:
HEALTH + DANCE.
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🛡️ FIGHTING TO PROTECT WHAT SHE BUILT
But 2024 also brought a very different challenge.
On June 4, 2024, KTAL reported that problems surrounding the nearby Jolie Apartments were affecting Legacy Dance Studio.
Jackson described trash and other problems spilling onto the property.
The studio’s exterior had been hit with graffiti.
People had used its outdoor faucet to shower.
And its air-conditioning units had been stolen.
Not once.
TWICE.
Jackson said she sought assistance through the City of Shreveport and contacted her city council representative.
The Shreveport Police Department told KTAL at the time that it was monitoring the situation and encouraged people to report crimes in the area.
But Jackson’s greatest concern wasn’t simply property.
It was the children inside.
She had spent decades creating a place where young people could learn, grow and feel safe.
Now she was advocating to protect it.
Jackson described the seriousness of the situation to KTAL:
“We are at war in our own building.”
Building something is one accomplishment.
Protecting it is another.
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🩷💚 SERVICE BEYOND THE STUDIO
Jackson’s service extends beyond dance, healthcare and higher education.
She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, adding sisterhood and service to an already broad community footprint.
In 2025, Legacy Dance Studio/Terry Jackson was listed among Junior Achievement’s JA Empower mentors.
And in 2026, Jackson became part of another level of community leadership as a member of the Shreveport Women’s Commission.
Military service.
Healthcare.
Education.
Dance.
Mentorship.
Sisterhood.
Civic involvement.
Different arenas.
A remarkably consistent theme.
SERVICE.
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💫 THE NAME MAKES SENSE NOW
Go all the way back to the beginning.
Not to 2002.
Even further.
To a little girl who loved dance but didn’t have the opportunity to learn it.
Then look at what followed.
She grew up.
Served her country.
Became a nurse.
Opened a dance studio with 29 students.
Earned recognition from Shreveport’s arts community.
Built the studio beyond 20,000 square feet.
Advanced from nurse to nurse practitioner to Doctor of Nursing Practice.
Became a university educator.
And spent decades creating opportunities for other people.
That’s why the most remarkable part of Terry Jackson’s story may not be any single credential.
It’s how the pieces connect.
The opportunity she didn’t have became the opportunity she created for others.
And nearly a quarter-century after those first 29 students walked into one small room, perhaps the most fitting description of what followed has been sitting above the door all along.
LEGACY.
LEGACY DANCE STUDIO.
More than steps.
More than dance.
IT’S A LEGACY. ❤️💃🏾
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🔥 TAKEOVER TV SPOTLIGHT
DR. TERRY JACKSON | LEGACY DANCE STUDIO
💬 Were you a Legacy dancer, parent, instructor or one of Dr. Jackson’s nursing students?
Maybe your child took their first ballet class there.
Maybe you performed in a Legacy recital.
Maybe Dr. Jackson taught you in nursing school.
Maybe you know her through Alpha Kappa Alpha, healthcare or community service.
Or maybe you’ve simply watched what started with 29 students grow into what it is today.
Drop your memories, photos and stories in the comments.
Because sometimes a legacy isn’t something we recognize only after someone is gone.
Sometimes we get the opportunity to celebrate it while it’s still being built. ❤️
