Vera M.

Kashmir Blake sitting in her dance studio.

When Kashmir Blake, affectionately known as Kashmir, the beloved Middle and Upper School Dance Teacher, retires at the end of this school year, she won’t just be leaving behind a dance studio, she’ll be leaving behind generations of girls who grew up under her wing. 

I was one of them.

I still remember my first-ever dance class with her. It was seventh-grade P.E, and I sat cross-legged on the marley floor while chatter buzzed around me. Kashmir sat in her big leather chair near the TV. After she took attendance, she started telling us stories for the rest of the block. We never even danced, let alone stood up. She told us about her nieces and nephews, her career as a professional, and, of course, told us that we are her girls. It was the best PE class I ever had. Just in that first class, she established not only that she was someone you could talk to, but that we were going to have a blast learning her choreography.

When I heard that Kashmir, one of the most supportive and sincere teachers at Westridge, was retiring, I was heartbroken, but I know that all stories come to an end.

Before she became the heart of the Westridge dance program for 30 years, Kashmir was a professional dancer, running her own studio and performing across cities. That changed when her daughter Kya was born.

“I came back on stage when Kya was one,” she said. “I needed to see if I could live without performing. And I could because I wanted to be a mom more.” She opened a studio and started teaching, balancing her passion for dance and her life as a mother. Kashmir started at Westridge, first as a long-term sub. When the school called her back later that year, she accepted—and she’s been here ever since.

Kashmir never expected to be at Westridge for as long as she has been. Now, 30 years later, she credits the students for what brings her back. Referring to her students, she said, “You all are perfect and wonderful and kind.” Fitting into the Westridge culture wasn’t easy at first. Kashmir noted challenges with some of the faculty members who ostracized her at the beginning. “I don’t know if it was because I was flashy or because I was Black, but I wasn’t here for [the teachers]—I was here for the girls.”

Undeterred, in her first year, she transformed dance into an actual class, allowing the girls to expand their passion for dance. The creation of the class allowed her to choreograph dances, which turned into dance concerts. Kashmir built a dance program that celebrates individuality and creativity, and watched shy beginners blossom into confident performers. “I want to leave them with some of me,” she said.

When asked what she would miss the most, Kashmir responded without hesitation: “The girls.” She continued, “By the fifth week of July, I have teenage girl withdrawals. I’ll hug teenage girls in the mall because I will miss you all so much.”

After being a role model to many students and shaping the Westridge dance program, her biggest hope is that students remember how much she cared about them. “Loving,” is how Physical Education Department Chair Coach Allison Clark ‘07 described her. That word echoes through the way she speaks about her students. “People think I have five daughters because I’m always saying ‘my girls,'” Kashmir said, with a laugh. “But it’s you all. You’re my girls.”