For 100 years, the Radio City Rockettes have dazzled audiences from around the world with their impeccable precision, glittering sequin costumes, and famous high kicks. But for 15 seasons, Jennifer Jones did something far more radical than master the choreography — she broke a 62-year barrier as the iconic troupe’s first Black Rockette.
The 58-year-old New Jersey native never set out to make history, however. When she moved to New York City in the mid-1980s, Broadway was the dream.
“My parents took my sister and me to Broadway shows growing up. That was the dream,” she told The Montclair Girl in a recent interview. “I wanted to be Stephanie Mills in “The Wiz.’”
So when she first came across a Rockette audition ad, she nearly ignored it. A friend had to convince her to even consider it.
“I didn’t really know who they were or what they did. My friend said, ‘Jennifer, you should audition for the Rockettes. You’d make a great Rockette,’” she recalled. She was still “green,” she said, and thought it would be a useful way to get comfortable auditioning for Broadway — her real goal.
Jones auditioned, got a callback, and then heard nothing for months. Then came an unexpected phone call from Violet Holmes, a longtime dancer and choreographer for the Rockettes, inviting her to perform with them during the Super Bowl XXII halftime show. Nervous and unsure whether this meant she’d been hired or simply brought in temporarily, she initially said she would need to call her back. Less than half an hour later, she called Holmes back and accepted. Days later, while watching the news, she learned the Rockettes had hired their first Black dancer since the troupe’s founding in 1925.
“I literally thought, ‘Huh, I wonder who that is,’” she joked. Her mother called soon after, asking if it might be her. Eventually, it became clear: at age 20, in 1987, Jennifer Jones had officially been hired — and was quickly ushered into media training as the company prepared to introduce its first Black Rockette to the world.
“I was suddenly being trained as a spokesperson and role model, but I didn’t even fully understand the legacy or the history I had just walked into,” she said.
Despite joining decades after the Civil Rights Movement — and at a time when Black culture was reshaping music, television, and film — her arrival was met with mixed reactions.
“Anytime there’s change, there’s resistance,” she explained. “Some people were welcoming, and some weren’t. Some of the women on the line, some people in management… not everyone was thrilled to have a Black woman there. I was scrutinized a lot, constantly corrected, and sometimes laughed at.”
The pressure sometimes made her question whether she belonged. But she leaned on the dream she had held since childhood.
“My dream was to dance on a great stage and walk out that backstage door. I had wanted that since I was nine. No one was allowed to take that away from me. I got to dance on the same stage, wear the same costumes, and walk out of the same backstage door as everyone else. That’s what I held onto,” said Jones.
Jones went on to dance 15 seasons — a tenure that cemented her as a trailblazer and one that shifted what the Rockettes could look like. Her presence opened the door for a slow but steady change in the line. Since her groundbreaking debut, more Black dancers have joined the company, including pioneers like Danielle Jolie Dale-Hancock, who was the second, Danelle Morgan, who became one of the troupe’s longest-tenured Black Rockettes, and the growing number of Black dancers who now grace the annual Christmas Spectacular — a visible shift from the once rigidly uniform, all-white line Jones entered.
Today, Jones lives in New Jersey with her husband, Jeff DeBarbieri, and has chronicled her life and legacy in her memoir, “Becoming Spectacular,” released earlier this year. In a recent Instagram post, the dancer celebrated the Rockettes’ 100th anniversary and provided further insight into her lasting legacy.
“I take great pride in being part of this tradition and ushering in a new era for Black women to dance on the line,” she wrote. “My historic debut at Radio City Music Hall was driven by my sheer love for dance, and it’s a dream come true to be the first Black dancer to kick as a Rockette on this iconic stage. A heartfelt shout-out to all the trailblazers who have graced this stage, including Setsuko Maruhashi, the first Asian Rockette, and Lillian Colon, the first Latina Rockette. Together, we are making history! Here’s to continuing the legacy, breaking barriers, and celebrating diversity in dance. Let’s keep dancing into the future!”
