Daughter of Wilber Walter Babbidge and Mary Almira (Myra) Bowen, Wilberta's gift for dance was discovered when she was a child. In April 1917, she spent 9 months in Los Angeles studying dancing at Denishawn, the Ruth St. Denis School of Dancing, and with Ernest Belcher of The Alhambra Theater in London, who was conducting a Ballet School in Los Angeles. She was accompanied by her mother and sister, Julia. In 1920, Wilberta danced in a Turkish Harem Scene preceding each performance of "The Virgin of Stamboul" at the Rivoli Theatre of Los Angeles. Making her way to Hollywood and Beverly Hills, she gave ballerina and toe dance lessons to the actress Gloria Swanson to help her prepare for an acting role. Wilberta and her husband, Thomas Harold Lipps, owned the Hotel del Tahquitz in Palm Springs, CA during WWII.
Daughter of Wilber Walter Babbidge and Mary Almira (Myra) Bowen, Wilberta's gift for dance was discovered when she was a child. In April 1917, she spent 9 months in Los Angeles studying dancing at Denishawn, the Ruth St. Denis School of Dancing, and with Ernest Belcher of The Alhambra Theater in London, who was conducting a Ballet School in Los Angeles. She was accompanied by her mother and sister, Julia. In 1920, Wilberta danced in a Turkish Harem Scene preceding each performance of "The Virgin of Stamboul" at the Rivoli Theatre of Los Angeles. Making her way to Hollywood and Beverly Hills, she gave ballerina and toe dance lessons to the actress Gloria Swanson to help her prepare for an acting role. Wilberta and her husband, Thomas Harold Lipps, owned the Hotel del Tahquitz in Palm Springs, CA during WWII.
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