“Becoming Spectacular: The Rhythm of Resilience from the First African American Rockette” by Jennifer Jones
c.2025, Amistad $26.99 208 pages
Step, step, kick.
Twirl, step and kick again. Left, right, step. The choreography is all new to you, but you’ll get it eventually, no problem. You know what it takes to be a great dancer: Getting enough rest, taking care of yourself, practice, and, as in the new book “Becoming Spectacular” by Jennifer Jones, you’ll need all the perseverance you can muster.
Born in New Jersey in 1967, Jennifer Jones had a relatively happy childhood. The daughter of an interracial couple, her parents worked hard to give their three girls good lives, fun activities, safe neighborhoods in which to live, good schools and a firm love of the arts.
As a youngster, Jones took twirling classes and tap lessons. She remembers seeing plays on Broadway and imagining she could be the next Stephanie Mills in The Wiz. Mills’ iconic performance made it clear that there was a place for little Black girls on the Great White Way.
When Jones was a pre-teen, her mother paid for dance lessons, and Jones found a mentor, Frank Hatchett, co-founder of the Broadway Dance Center. She also entered a pageant and got fourth runner-up. Yet over time, her love of performing began to take a backseat to boys and drugs as she entered her teens. It didn’t help that her parents fought, and they divorced.
At 17, Jones expressed an interest in rekindling her love of dance, but her then-boyfriend scoffed, which she took as a challenge. She worked her way onto a music video and took dance classes in Manhattan while attending college, working odd jobs to pay the bills and attending try-outs as often as possible.
A painful break-up with a different boyfriend sent Jones back to New Jersey, but dance was still in her blood. She’d noticed a listed audition for Radio City Music Hall’s Rockettes. The ad specified that minorities were welcome to try out, so she did.
And in an instant, she was a Rockette. And that’s that, right? Not so fast.
That’s what you get in the first half of “Becoming Spectacular,” but author Jennifer Jones has a whole lot more to tell. Are you sure you want to read it, though?
Think twice: Jones’ basic story and her perseverance are worth cheering about, but readers may sometimes feel uncomfortable in what may seem like oversharing of private matters and parent-child issues in other parts of her tale.
Jones rushes her early story quite a bit, sometimes barely touching upon areas that might have served to inspire readers. All her hard-won triumphs are often minimized, especially considering the end of Jones’ story, her struggles and the difficulties she experienced as a Black woman. That makes this tale as uneven as a cobblestone street.
Overall, this quick story could’ve been longer and better, but even so, there’s inspiration here to be found, if you look for it. Know that going into “Becoming Spectacular,” and you might get a kick out of it.
