Gymnast Nia Dennis earns praise for her ‘Black excellence’ routine
The reviews are in for gymnast Nia Dennis’ “Black excellence” floor routine and they’re nothing short of sensational.
Dennis, a senior at UCLA, was competing against Arizona State when she executed the routine celebrating Black culture. It featured Kendrick Lamar, Beyonce, Missy Elliott, Soulja Boy, Tupac Shakur and Megan Thee Stallion.
“Do the damn thing girl,” Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, wrote on Twitter. “This was so fun to watch! Keep killing it!”
Missy Elliott also gave the routine her approval, tweeting: “Snappin”
At the time of writing, the video has gained more than five million views on Twitter. It was shared by the UCLA Gymnastics account with the caption: “This is what #blackexcellence looks like. @DennisNia does it again!”
The routine scored a 9.950 and helped UCLA to achieve a 196.150-195.950 victory over Arizona State.
“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 Los Angeles Daily News.
“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.”
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It’s not the first time Dennis has gained internet stardom. Last year, her Beyonce-inspired routine received praise from Alicia Keys and Kamala Harris.
