Jennifer Jones (born August 1, 1967) is an American dancer and actress. In 1987, she became the first African American Radio City Music Hall
Rockette
The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Ra ...
.
Life and education
Jones was born on August 1, 1967, in
Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.Randolph, where she attended Randolph High School and
County College of Morris
County College of Morris (CCM) is a public community college in Randolph, New Jersey. CCM offers associate degree and certificate programs as well as transfer opportunities for students looking to pursue a bachelor's degree at another instituti ...
.Roche, Megan "Former Radio City Rockette Still Shares Joy of Dance" p,. 53, ''Mt. Olive Life'', December 2019 Accessed July 13, 2020. "Jennifer Jones, a Rockette that began her journey in 1987, hails from Randolph. A proud graduate of Randolph High School and County College of Morris, Jones also holds a special place in the history books as she was the first African American Rockette ever cast.... As for her life today, she currently resides in West Orange."
Rockette
The Rockettes are an American precision dance company. Founded 1925 in St. Louis, they have, since , performed at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Until 2015, they also had a touring company. They are best known for starring in the Ra ...
at a Rockettes Open Call. She made the cut and became the dance company's first African American Rockette in its then-62-year history. She was chosen out of 221 women who had auditioned for the 26 open spots on the coveted line. Out of the 23 other women who were contracted for on-call vacancies in the New York City production, she was the only African American.
At tall, she fulfilled the RCMH requirement that its Rockette dancers must be between and in stocking feet, as well as being proficient in ballet, tap, and jazz repertory. Other requirements, according to ''The New York Times'', included, “a slender figure, long legs, and the ability to perform 20 eye-level kicks while retaining proper posture.”
She had a fifteen-year career with the RCMH Rockettes, which included a national tour and televised performances such as ''Comic Relief IV'', an HBO TV special from May 12, 1990, filmed at Radio City Music Hall, which featured
Billy Crystal
William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. ...
,
Whoopi Goldberg
Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...
, and
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
color barrier
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into racial or other ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crime against humanity under the Statute of the Internati ...
in 1987 ended a longstanding Radio City Music Hall policy against hiring African Americans for its Rockettes’ chorus line so as not to distract from its hallmark of perfectly-synchronized precision and rigid color uniformity. The rule was set-down in 1925 by Russell E. Markert when he founded the Rockettes dance company in St. Louis with its chorus line modeled on the precision dance style inspired by early 20th century dance troupes such as the
Ziegfeld Follies
The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Ai ...
and the
Folies Bergère
The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
.
As its chief choreographer, Markert sought absolute precision and uniformity in the movements of the dancers through syncopated, intricate steps based on soft-shoe and tap. Every dancer was required to move as one unit. Markert also forbade his dancers from sun-tanning, explaining that, “it would make her he dancerlook like a colored girl."
Markert's guidelines extended eight decades into the 20th century. In 1982, its director and choreographer, Violet Holmes, defended the RCMH Rockettes’ lack of diversity on artistic grounds when questioned by ''The New York Times'' on why no African American dancer had ever been chosen for the line. Holmes explained that the Rockettes had a rich history as a precision line, and its girls needed to act as mirror images on the stage. She continued, “One or two black girls in the line would definitely distract. You would lose the look of precision, which is the hallmark of the Rockettes.”
The company faced backlash from civil rights organizations such as the NAACP and the City Council's Black and Hispanic Caucus for its lack of diversity, particularly noticeable against New York City's multicultural landscape. The chairwoman of the New York City Human Rights, Marcella Maxwell, opined that the Rockettes were not fully reflecting the richness of New York City's diverse racial and ethnic populations, but underlined that no discrimination complaints had been filed against the company for its longstanding policy.
Radio City Music Hall countered the criticism, stating that the lack of diversity was based on the infrequency and rarity of Rockettes' job openings, and that when auditions were advertised, they specifically placed ads in black, Hispanic, and Asian publications to encourage minority dancers to audition.
National debut
Jones’ national debut with the RCMH Rockettes was on Sunday, January 31, 1988 during the National Football League Super Bowl XXII halftime show at
Jack Murphy Stadium
San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium on the west coast of the United States, in San Diego, California. The stadium opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium and was known as Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 to 2017, the stadi ...
in San Diego, in a game between the
Washington Redskins
The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
and the
Denver Broncos
The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
.
Produced by Radio City Music Hall, the theme was "Something Grand", and was intended to break from the "traditional baton-twirling approach" of past halftime shows, as explained by Barnett Lipton, Radio City Music Hall's special events coordinator. He added that the theme was a spinoff of the year 1988. “We've come up with a show that's all 88 – 88 pianos, each with 88 keys, and the 88 greatest legs in show business.”
The 12-minute spectacle showcased 1,200 performers, which included 44 Rockettes, 400 swing band members, 300
Jazzercise
Jazzercise is a fitness franchise company founded by Judi Sheppard Missett in 1968 and headquartered in Carlsbad, California, United States. The franchise's name is a portmanteau of "jazz" and "exercise".
Jazzercise combines dance aerobics ...
rs, 88
tuxedo
Black tie is a semi-formal Western dress code for evening events, originating in British and American conventions for attire in the 19th century. In British English, the dress code is often referred to synecdochically by its principal element ...
ed pianists simultaneously playing on 88 Kimball grand pianos, and two college
marching bands
A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...
(
San Diego State
San Diego State University (SDSU) is a public research university in San Diego, California. Founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, it is the third-oldest university and southernmost in the 23-member California State University (CSU) system ...
Chubby Checker
Chubby Checker (born Ernest Evans; October 3, 1941) is an American rock and roll singer and dancer. He is widely known for popularizing many dance styles, including The Twist dance style, with his 1960 hit cover of Hank Ballard & The Midnight ...
sang his hit song, '' The Twist''. The pianists performed an adapted version of
Edvard Grieg
Edvard Hagerup Grieg ( , ; 15 June 18434 September 1907) was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is widely considered one of the foremost Romantic era composers, and his music is part of the standard classical repertoire worldwide. His use of ...
During Jones’ penultimate year rostering with the RCMH Rockettes, she performed in the ensemble of the 2001 Broadway revival of '' 42nd Street'', which won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical that year. She was one of three African American women to be cast in the show.
The Harlem City Music Hall Dance Spectacular
In 2016, Jones was honored by
The Harlem School of the Arts
Harlem School of the Arts (HSA) is an art school in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City.
Harlem School of the Arts was founded in 1964, by soprano Dorothy Maynor. Maynor was succeeded by mezzo-soprano Betty Allen as President in 1979, when a new 3 ...
with a world premiere tribute called “The Harlem City Music Hall Dance Spectacular”, written and directed by Aubrey Lynch II, the school's dance director. The show was inspired by Jones’ RCMH Rockettes legacy and barrier-breaking milestone, and featured The Harlemettes, The Harlem Rockets, and the Harlem School of the Arts Dance students. The story followed Little JJ on her quest to becoming a Rockette, an aspirational allegory of how dreams can be realized through determination, courage, hard work, and talent. At the event, Jones acknowledged that by crossing the color barrier with the RCMH Rockettes, she had paved the way for the next generation of trailblazers.
''O Mag'' Insider appointment
In August 2018, Jones was appointed an "O Mag Insider" by ''
O, The Oprah Magazine
''O, The Oprah Magazine'', also known simply as ''O'', is an American monthly magazine founded by talk show host Oprah Winfrey and Hearst Communications.
Overview
It was first published on April 19, 2000. , its average paid circulation was ...
.''
Personal life
Jones has been a resident of
West Orange, New Jersey
West Orange is a suburban township in Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States Census, its population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from the 46,207 counted in the 2010 Census.