Ruth Beckford attended the University of California—Berkeley from 1944 till 1947.
Career
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
1943
Ruth Beckford
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
New York, United States
Anna Halprin's California Visions Get a New York Stage
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
The Black Panther Party Free Breakfast for School Children
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
2013
Oakland, California
Former dancer and choreographer Ruth Beckford, 88, is photographed at her home on Wednesday, May 8, 2013.
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
2013
Oakland, California
Former dancer and choreographer Ruth Beckford, 88, is photographed at her home on Wednesday, May 8, 2013.
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
2013
Former dancer and choreographer Ruth Beckford, 88, is photographed at her home. Beckford is an Oakland Tech alumni and taught at the Katherine Dunham school in New York. Among her many accomplishments, she's a founder of the Oakland Dance Association.
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
2013
Oakland, California
Tribune News Retired dancer Ruth Beckford takes time for a portrait on the porch of the Defremery Recreation Center. She has just published her book "Still Groovin' ".
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
2017
Oakland, California
Careth Reid, left, and Ruth Beckford are seen with the photographic archive of Joseph at Reid's home. Joseph was the first professional African-American photographer in the Bay Area and chronicled life there from 1930-1970. Reid organized his archives, and her and Beckford have published a book of his work which is due out next month.
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
Friends and lovers of Ruth Beckford in the "Ruth Beckford Room" Gefforey's Inner Circle in the BAMBD
photo Gene Hazzard
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
The Honorable Ruth Beckford, grandson Jah Amiel, Marvin and granddaughter Naeemah Joy.
Gallery of Ruth Beckford
Ruth Beckford , teacher of Haitian Primitive dance
Former dancer and choreographer Ruth Beckford, 88, is photographed at her home. Beckford is an Oakland Tech alumni and taught at the Katherine Dunham school in New York. Among her many accomplishments, she's a founder of the Oakland Dance Association.
Tribune News Retired dancer Ruth Beckford takes time for a portrait on the porch of the Defremery Recreation Center. She has just published her book "Still Groovin' ".
Careth Reid, left, and Ruth Beckford are seen with the photographic archive of Joseph at Reid's home. Joseph was the first professional African-American photographer in the Bay Area and chronicled life there from 1930-1970. Reid organized his archives, and her and Beckford have published a book of his work which is due out next month.
The Picture Man: From the Collection of Bay Area Photographer E.F. Joseph 1927-1979
(From 1927 until his death in 1979, E.F. Joseph documented...)
From 1927 until his death in 1979, E.F. Joseph documented the daily lives of African Americans in the Bay Area. His images were printed in the Pittsburgh Courier and the Chicago Defender but not widely published in his home community. A graduate of the American School of Photography in Illinois, Joseph photographed the likes of such celebrities and activists as Josephine Baker, Mahalia Jackson, Mary McLeod Bethune, and Thurgood Marshall. However, what is perhaps more compelling within these pages are the countless images of everyday citizens-teaching, entertaining, worshipping, working, and serving their community and their nation.
Still Groovin: Affirmations for Women in the Second Half of Life
(Ruth Beckford revels in life with all its wonders in this...)
Ruth Beckford revels in life with all its wonders in this book of more than 100 affirmations for women at midlife and beyond. Still Groovin' touches on every aspect of women's lives-from health to empowerment to romance to inner peace-with great humor, wisdom, and insight. Sometimes practical, often reflective, her affirmations will energize your spirit, turning the rhythm of existence into the music of celebration.
Ruth Beckford was an American well-known dancer, teacher, choreographer, actress. She is also a renowned author and playwright.
Background
Ethnicity:
Ruth's parents are natives of Jamiaca and Atlanta, Georgia.
Ruth Beckford was born on December 7, 1925, in Oakland, California, United States. She was the youngest of four children of Cora and Felix Beckford, including one sister and twin brothers. Beckford's parents are natives of Jamaica and Atlanta, Georgia. Both Ruth's parents were active in Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association, her father served as a secretary of the U.N.I.A. Oakland Branch and her mother worked as a Black Cross nurse. Ruth's extended family supported her training in dance including tap, acrobatics, and ballet as well as music lessons. Miss Beckford performed professionally as a child in vaudeville acts, with her brother and solo, onstage in competition at movie-houses and also at social settings such as Sunday teas and other community events.
Education
Ruth Beckford attended the University of California-Berkeley from 1944 till 1947. Then Ruth studied acting at Oakland Ensemble Theatre.
When Beckford graduated from Oakland Technical High School in 1944, she joined the companies of notable dancers, including Florelle Batsford, Anna Halprin, and Welland Lathrop. Beckford was the only black dancer in their modern dance companies. When Beckford came onstage, the audience would gasp in surprise, said Brenda Payton, Beckford’s friend.
When she was just 17, Beckford toured with Katherine Dunham, who was credited with revolutionizing the art form by introducing African dance.
Beckford quickly earned the nickname the Dance Lady, and in 1947, she became the first black member of the Orchesis Modern Dance Honor Society at UC Berkeley. That year, she created the first recreational modern dance department in the country at the Oakland Department of Parks and Recreation.
She started the Ruth Beckford African Haitian Dance Company in 1953 and taught at studios in Oakland and San Francisco. From 1953 till 1975 Ruth Beckford worked was a founder at African-Haitian dance schools in Oakland, California and San Francisco, California. From 1972 till 1975 Ruth Beckford affiliated with National Endowment for the Arts. Beckford turned her attention toward serving the less fortunate members of society in 1990. She counseled homeless people at the Berkeley office of the Department of Social Services until 1997, when she became a life skills counselor at the Oakland Private Industry Council. In 2000, she became the president of the African American Museum Library Coalition. Ruth worked also as an actress and speaker.
Ruth was also an author, with Ron Stacker Thompson, of “Tis the Morning of My Life”. It was a romantic comedy performance, which was produced in Oakland, California, and two sequels of “Tis the Morning of My Life”, 1984-89. She also wrote “Girl You’ve Got Choices”, 1999; “A Little of This and Some of That” and “The Dance Lady”. “A Little of This and Some of That” is a cookery-book and “The Dance Lady” is an autobiography.
Quotations:
"I choreographed my life. Step by step, year by year."
Personality
Ruth has always mentored girls and women in my many years as a dance teacher. Her answering unit always gives an affirmation instead of the standard ‘leave a number, etc.’ She was encouraged by several friends to put them into a book. Ruth believes that if you are in control of your health, empowerment, inner peace and romance, you are having a groovy, good life, hence Still Groovin’: Affirmations for Women in the Second Half of Life. Ruth's seventy-five years and very successful career gives her the wisdom to share with her readers. Ruth is happy to say both the hardback and paperback are doing very well.
Ruth would often tell her students that dancing was her gift to the world. Ruth didn’t need to practice, didn’t need to learn the art of mastering a rhythm. It came naturally to her.
Ruth was dedicated to dance but was determined not to be a starving artist, so she worked for the Oakland Recreation Department, where she insisted the dance classes would be free of charge. Ruth used dance to teach life skills and encourage the girls to be self-sufficient and confident in their individuality.
Her mother said her feet moved to music when she was still in the crib.
Physical Characteristics:
Ruth was definitely a diva - always dressed to the nines, nails done, jewelry. Beckford always had on a leotard and leggings, but often paired them with either a pink or yellow item that she knitted herself to give them a pop of color. And she always had on a set of stained-glass earrings. When she reached a certain age, she hired a seamstress, who made her clothing based on designs Beckford drew.
Quotes from others about the person
“I think one of the things that stands out for me is how gracefully she moved across the floor with her statuesque body. I had never seen anything like it.” - Mildred Howard, one of Beckford’s former students.
“She was a contortionist. Her body could do anything. She could take her leg and wrap it around her neck if she wanted to.” - Deborah Vaughan, a former student.
“She taught Afro-Haitian dance before it was popular. She had black bodies moving across the floor at a time when ... there was so much discrimination.” - Howard
“She was just incredibly inspirational, very disciplined,” - Payton.