Fans are flipping over Nia Dennis‘ viral routine.
The 21-year-old gymnast spoke about her unforgettable floor exercise during the Jan. 28th episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Last week, Dennis and her fellow University of California, Los Angeles Bruins competed against the Arizona State Wildcats at the season opener in L.A.. Dennis performed a routine set to the music of Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Soulja Boy, Megan Thee Stallion and the late Tupac Shakur.
“This routine, I believe, is a reflection of everything that I am as a woman today,” she told Ellen DeGeneres. “And I picked a lot of really influential artists, Black artists that had a huge impact in the Black community. For starters, Kendrick Lamar, you know, he’s a huge activist in his music. We’re not allowed to use words and sounds in our floor routine. So, I figured if I wasn’t going to be able to say it, I wanted to do it in a different way and shine light on gymnastics.”
Dennis earned a nearly perfect score—a 9.95 out of 10.”This is what #blackexcellence looks like,” the UCLA gymnastics account tweeted along with a clip of her performance. “@niaadennis has done it again!”
