UCLA gymnast sparks viral ‘Black Excellence’ moment with weekend floor routine
Nia Dennis may not yet be a name known in international gymnastics, but her recent near-perfect-scored floor routine that featured Los Angeles-area and Atlanta hip-hop could put her on the map.
On Saturday, the UCLA senior scored a 9.95 out of 10 for the Bruins, which helped lead the team to victory against Arizona State University.
The dynamic routine, which highlighted Dennis’ tumbling flips and splits, also gave the judges a peek into her dancing abilities with the gymnast offering some hip-hop moves to songs including Monica’s “Everytime da Beat Drops,” Missy Elliott’s “Pass That Dutch” and Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble.” In UCLA’s post highlighting her work, Dennis’ routine is described as “what #blackexcellence looks like.”
In her own Instagram post, Dennis said she did it “for the culture,” referring to her gymnastics choreography paying homage to Black culture. According to The Los Angeles Daily News, the native of Columbus, Ohio, was also using her floor time to honor her dad Casey Dennis, who stepped in a Black fraternity in college.
“This routine definitely reflects everything that I am today as a woman and, of course, I had to incorporate a lot of parts of my culture,” Dennis told The Los Angeles Daily News.
The 21-year-old brought some flair to the gymnastics floor last year, when she wowed with a modern music and choreography piece to the tune of a Beyoncé medley, which included songs including “Crazy in Love” and “Ego.” During that meet, her performance received a 9.975 out of 10.
Saturday’s viral moment was applauded by thousands on Twitter, including rapper/producer Elliott.
There were some who found UCLA’s mention of “black excellence” in reference to the routine as divisive.
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