Kashmere Munford may give the impression of being passionate about what she does. While her love for teaching children could easily be perceived as a passion, for Munford it is her purpose.

As the owner of Turlock based business Shabah Choreography, Munford is excited to now be offering classes in her hometown of Oakdale.

“What separates my business from the other ones is, I’m a believer in Jesus Christ. There’s a difference between your passion and your purpose,” she said.

Earlier this year, the choreography, tumbling and all things cheer enthusiast teamed up with Tom and Lori Theofanopoulos of Oakdale MMA, utilizing their downtown Oakdale space to initially offer clinics, which led to a weekly class.

Currently Shabah Choreography offers a weekly tumbling class each Tuesday at 7 p.m. The class is open to all students/all skills ages five and up.

“I live here. I’ve been here for three years,” Munford said of her return to Oakdale.

She further shared she taught students locally prior to taking her skills to Turlock.

“All of my little girls that I used to teach cheer are now graduated and graduating from Oakdale High.”

The single mom of three noted her longtime love for the sport of cheer, first starting her own journey with the sport at the early age of two.

“I was raised on the football field,” Munford said.

With parents both involved as key players of Pop Warner in Southern California and seven brothers committed to football, it would only seem natural that she too would find her home on the field.

“I started competitive cheer when I was nine and then I cheered in high school,” she said. “I went to school and cheered at Stan State. My whole life has been cheer.”

Yet there was a moment in her path, when Munford shared she contemplated leaving the sport. A moment, at a young age, when she discovered her purpose.

“For me, I feel like my life went very different because of cheer,” she said of making the choice to stay on the field, during high school. “My life went differently because of cheer. When kids walk through my gym, my sole purpose is not to teach them how to tumble. My purpose is for them to learn how to believe in themselves. For them to understand they can conquer fear.”

As testimony to that in her current life, Munford chose the name “Shabah” for her business because of its definition: “to take captive.”

“I had to step into this position of authority and believe in myself again and do it as a single mom,” she said of opening her business initially in 2015.

Life lessons, commitment and a fearlessness she takes to her students.

“I really focus on uplifting, encouraging and inspiring the girls to truly believe they can do this,” she said. “I think that the biggest thing and why people continue to bring their kids to me, is not because I can teach them, but because I teach them how to win the battlefield of the mind. To truly believe in themselves.”

Now as she builds her business in the heart of Oakdale, she noted looking forward to getting to know the community more through her business.

“Give us a try,” Munford encouraged. “There’s a lot of kids that go to places and they’re stuck there for years or their parents are paying a lot of money; it’s not about that. It’s really not.”

For more information on Shabah Choreography visit Instagram, shabahchoreography or contact Munford at 209-422-1954.