- UCLA senior gymnast Nia Dennis' near-perfect floor routine is going viral on social media.
- Her routine featured music from Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Soulja Boy, Tupac Shakur, and Megan Thee Stallion.
- Dennis received a score of 9.950 for her routine, and people can't get enough.
On Jan. 23, UCLA senior gymnast Nia Dennis (opens in new tab) performed a sh0wstopping, jaw-dropping floor routine that has since gone viral on social media. Her routine celebrated Black excellence, featuring music from all Black artists, including Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé (opens in new tab), Missy Elliott (opens in new tab), Soulja Boy, Tupac Shakur, and Megan Thee Stallion (opens in new tab). She added in some fun choreography on top of her intense tumbles. (She also earned a score of 9.950.)
Perhaps unsurprisingly, people lost their minds over Dennis' routine after the UCLA Gymnastics shared a video of it to Twitter, writing, "This is what #blackexclellence looks like."
This is what #blackexcellence looks like. @DennisNia does it again! 🔥📹 @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/2vxgyTvUCGJanuary 24, 2021
Not only did the UCLA Gymnastics tweet received more than 41,000 likes and 11,000 retweets, but a quote tweet from Twitter user Wells P got nearly 300,000 likes and 80,000 retweets. So, yeah, viral.
WE GOT A NEW SUPERSTAR pic.twitter.com/7HYI5lX8RsJanuary 24, 2021
"WE GOT A NEW SUPERSTAR," Wells P captioned the video.
But another person replied, "nia BEEN a superstar."
Gold medal Olympic gymnast Simone Biles (opens in new tab) was also blown away, saying on Twitter, "okay @DennisNia do the damn thing girl 🔥 this was so fun to watch! keep killing it!" Dennis replied with a sweet and simple, " thank you girl
okay @DennisNia do the damn thing girl 🔥 this was so fun to watch! keep killing it! https://t.co/eDntwMpC4RJanuary 24, 2021
In an interview with Los Angeles Daily News (opens in new tab), Dennis shared the inspiration behind her routine and the impact she hoped it had on the audience and judges. "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," she said. "I wanted to have a dance party because that's my personality and of course I had to shout out LA because we out here, UCLA."
Last year, Dennis also went viral with her epic floor routine set to Beyoncé, which earned her a score of 9.975 from the judges.
A year after Katelyn Ohashi, Nia Dennis takes the Internet by storm. 😍@katelyn_ohashi @DennisNia @TeamUSA @uclagymnastics @gymnastics pic.twitter.com/Ywit6xP4DpFebruary 28, 2020
Dennis took to Twitter at the time to thank her new fans for all their kind messages from her Beyoncé routine. "I am overwhelmed with happiness and joy, thank you everyone for such positive messages, it means the world to me to have your support. this is so surreal i can’t even believe it! much love always."
I am overwhelmed with happiness and joy, thank you everyone for such positive messages, it means the world to me to have your support. this is so surreal i can’t even believe it! much love always.. -xx nations 💕February 28, 2020
Emily Shiffer is a former digital web producer for Men’s Health and Prevention, and is currently a freelancer writer specializing in health, weight loss, and fitness. She is currently based in Pennsylvania and loves all things antiques, cilantro, and American history.
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