Jennifer Jones fell in love with dancing at age 9. She said it gave her “a new way to express my feelings.” Jones danced every day. And when she was 19, she tried out for the Rockettes. That dance company has huge shows in New York City. But there was a problem. It was 1987. At that time, the group did not allow dark-skinned dancers.
Jones was born in 1967 in New Jersey. Her mother was white, and her father was Black. (Before 1967, it was against the law in parts of the United States for a white person to marry a Black person.) Many women had danced for the Rockettes since 1925. None were Black.
“I danced like I belonged,” wrote Jones in her book, On the Line. The dancer described doing eye-level kicks. “I kicked as high as my legs could go,” she remembered. Jones made her dream come true. She became the first Black Rockette!
Jones performed her first show with the Rockettes on January 31, 1988. And a lot of people watched. Jones was in the NFL Super Bowl Halftime Show in San Diego, California! After that, she began performing at Radio City Music Hall. Jones spent 15 years as a Rockette.
She later danced on Broadway.
“I knew when I was a child that I wanted to dance on stage,” Jones explained. There were people who didn’t think she belonged. Jones didn’t care. “I never let anyone take that dream away from me,” she said. “No matter what.”
The ballerina believes her story has a lesson. “Believe in yourself,” said Jones. “With hard work, you can achieve your goals.” It may not be easy. “There will be challenges,” said Jones. But she called “ ” a key skill.
There are now other Rockettes with Black skin. In 2019, the Rockettes hired their first dancer with a missing hand. But Jones said there is work to do. She explained: “There are barriers that need to be broken.”
The dancer shared a final message for kids. “Dream big.”
Updated February 2, 2024, 5:01 P.M. (ET)
By Russell Kahn (Russ)
