Donyelle Denise Wilson, known to So You Think You Can Dance fans as Donyelle Jones, has died.
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A post on her official Instagram page announced that Donyelle passed away on Tuesday morning.
“Today at 8:34 am, Donyelle Denise Wilson transitioned,” the post read. “A wife. A daughter. A sister. A friend. And a warrior who kicked cancer’s ass every single day she was here.”
“Her spirit never dimmed,” the post added. “Her heart never hardened. And even in the storm, she never lost her smile. #GIWMA .”
Her death comes nearly a decade after Donyelle was diagnosed with stage 3C breast cancer in 2016, which eventually progressed to stage 4 metastatic breast cancer.
The nonprofit organization Dancers Against Cancer shared that her stage 3C cancer involved “formidable challenges, including a double mastectomy, relentless rounds of chemotherapy, and the harsh reality of metastatic breast cancer.”
Donyelle was 46.
The hip-hop and jazz dancer rose to fame on the second season of So You Think You Can Dance in the summer of 2006. She finished third in the competition, behind winner Benji Schwimmer and runner-up Travis Wall.
According to her IMDb profile, the professional dancer appeared in the 2022 holiday movie Spirited, starring Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds. Her credits also include the 2005 film Be Cool, which starred John Travolta and Uma Thurman.
Donyelle Jones Shared an Emotional Video Just a Week Ago
Meanwhile, just a week ago, Donyelle posted an emotional video on Instagram.
“It has come to the point where I have started to get my affairs in order,” she explained. “Most of you guys know, at this point, I am in hospice. I have done everything possible to extend my time here in this dimension and, at this point, I have surrendered to whatever God’s will is. And if God’s will is that he heals my liver, which is not functioning and not making me able to eat, and I get that miraculous healing, and I’m audacious enough to believe that he can do it — but I’m also cognizant enough to know that I’ve received 10 years of miracles.”
“What else can I possibly ask for but for his discernment on when it’s his time for me to have my time on this side come to an end?” she added.
Following Donyelle’s death, actress Yvette Nicole Brown paid tribute to her on social media.
“My dear friend has gone on to be with the Lord.” Brown wrote, calling Jones “the best of us.”
“Thank you for showing us how to live and fight and love and DANCE!” she added.
Los Angeles dance company LA Dance Magic also paid tribute to Donyelle on Instagram, saying it was “heartbroken” by her death. The company wrote that her “passion for dance, her kindness, and her love for the people around her touched countless lives and left an impact we will always carry with us.”