Jennifer Jones: Resilience – The Story of the First African American Rockette - Part 1

Today’s very special interview features Jennifer Jones, the first African American Rockette. Jennifer shares her story of growing up seeing Broadway shows with her parents. From a very early age, she dreamed of being on stage. She was so passionate and knew in every cell of her body that that would be her home.

Jennifer talks about resilience, and what she had to break through to make her dreams come true. She talks about the dance history of the 1920s and how the Rockettes were formed in 1925. The founder thought that Americans would love to see women of the same size and race perform the exact same moves on a dance line. During this time period, Black dancers had their own troupes, as Blacks and whites did not perform together.

Jennifer was hired as a Rockette in 1987. She was the very first Black woman to join the dance line. She saw an ad in the newspaper and her friend encouraged her to audition. She wasn’t familiar with the Rockettes, as she’d never seen them. She saw only white women auditioning and realized she was the only Black person. She was so nervous and intimated, she decided to leave. A voice inside of her said, “Stay!” She decided to do so.

She auditioned, got measured for height and weight, and the stage manager invited her to come back. Even though she went to the call back, she still didn’t realize who the Rockettes were. She didn’t know their history. She was hired and they immediately sent her for media training. She met with the choreographer who said she was “misquoted” by the press and that’s what Jennifer needed to say during interviews. Many people, from managers to choreographers to fellow dancers, were not happy that she was on the line.

Jennifer talks about being assaulted and repeatedly insulted. It took extreme perseverance on her part to follow her dreams of being on stage. She talks about how so many women auditioned and how they were not allowed to be a Rockette simply because of their skin color. Through her perseverance, her dream came true!

Her groundbreaking memoir is titled “Becoming Spectacular: The Rhythm of Resilience from the First African American Rockette.” She talks about how a public relations person working at Radio City Music Hall disliked her so much. She would tell her how she shouldn’t be there and that she was just lucky. Jennifer held these feelings in for many, many years. She also discusses specific mentors who helped to encourage her along the way. She received fan mail, as well as difficult hate mail. Some people didn’t feel she should be there, but her parents, family, and mentors helped her along the way. She was a Rockette for 15 years, then another dream came true – she danced on Broadway!

She discusses how staunch and strict the “Rockettes” brand is at Radio City. She didn’t feel she could speak her truth without repercussions. They are still very strict with the brand. They do allow for slightly varying heights and weights. The draw for so many is that it’s an incredible precision troupe. It has evolved over the years. They are trying to include more nationalities. The main focus is still precision and elegance. Jennifer hopes that she helped to inspire the Black women on the line today so they can experience the joy of the sisterhood of being a Rockette, dancing at Radio City Music Hall.  This is Part 1 of the interview. Info: rockettejenn.com.