Deconstructed: A Look Into Nia Dennis’ Black Excellence Floor Routine
UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis completes her floor routine Jan. 23, 2021.
By: Baigen Seawell
We can all agree that Black Women are literally a gem to the world.
We’ve been ruling athletics these past few weeks! From taking jobs in the MLB, NFL and more, Black Women have made a point in athletics from the higher ups. From the performance side, we are the blueprint.
Nia Dennis, a senior sociology major and gymnast at UCLA, hails from Columbus, OH. She performed a viral floor routine on Saturday that got rave reviews from the likes of Missy Elliott, and Janet Jackson on her skillset and incorporation of legendary choreography into her routine this year.
She did all of this while tallying up a near perfect score.
This is what #blackexcellence looks like. @DennisNia does it again! 🔥
— UCLA Gymnastics (@uclagymnastics) January 24, 2021
📹 @Pac12Network pic.twitter.com/2vxgyTvUCG
.@DennisNia I luv it 👸🏽 pic.twitter.com/X0Buu7uxcY
— Janet Jackson (@JanetJackson) January 25, 2021
I was mat talking you, while watching this @DennisNia!!!!! WOWOWOWOWOW! 🙌🏾👏🏾 https://t.co/9s1XgIfXn4
— kerry washington (@kerrywashington) January 25, 2021
This isn’t the first time she’s gone viral though. Dennis actually scored a 9.975/10 last year with a Beyoncé inspired routine and even found herself on the Ellen Show, where she and the Bruins received rave reviews for their viral performances on the floor.
She’s no stranger to the attention. But with the state of our country, the push to appreciate Black Women and Women in Sports as a whole has hit so much harder. Hence why this routine meant so much to so many people.
The Bruins took on the Arizona State Sun Devils in this meet and it went down to the wire. While each event gathers a unique bit of attention, the floor routine is always a show stopper. In this routine, Dennis pays homage to Black Culture, Cali Culture, and everything that meshes in between.
Before I start, here’s some quick pointers about artistic gymnastics and floor routines. Athletes are given around 90 seconds, and this is the most that a gymnast is able to show their personality. They will go through a total of 3 tumbling passes with dashes of choreography and music that synchronize with said routine.
The Deconstruction:
1. “Humble” - Kendrick Lamar, Kneeling
Dennis starts with her hand on her heart before the guitar riff from Kendrick Lamar’s “Humble”
She goes from the typical pose seen prior to competition, with her hand on her heart, to a kneel. This can be homage to Colin Kaepernick, and the countless athletes and student-athletes standing for something, even if it meant losing everything.
2. “Pass the Dutch” - Missy Elliott, Stepping
Dennis proceeds with her first tumbling pass before the song transitions to an African dance beat with a nod to Bey referencing “Homecoming” before transitioning into “Pass the Dutch” by Missy Elliot. Dennis also has a quick sequence of stepping, an homage to her father, who is a member of Greek Life.
3. “Every Time tha Beat Drop” - Monica
Nia transitions into a new song (and one of my favorite parts of the routine), being “Every Time the Beat Drop” by Monica. The song just hit the airwaves again when the song prompted a new Tiktok dance that she incorporates into her routine. She also adds in “Move like a Snake'' for a little flare before going into her middle pass.
4. “Crank Dat” - Soulja Boy
After the middle pass (and her tumbles are on beat by the way, how many people can say they can do that while tumbling?), Dennis transitions to another old school dance with “Crank Dat”, where she even gets her coach to crank with her!
5. California Homage
Dennis closes out with the final seconds of her routine with “Boyz-N-Tha Hood” by Eazy-E and N.W.A. (While some people are saying it’s Meg’s “Girls in the Hood” due to the remaster of the song, I’m leaning towards the OG version due to the relation of the song in the routine).
She then transitions flawlessly into “California Love” by 2Pac, where she hits a good C-Walk before closing out with a final pass and closing her routine with a flawless finish of 9.95.
The Bruins downed the Sun Devils 196.150 to 195.950. Dennis not only tallied a near perfect score on the floor, but also got a 9.9 on the vault as well.
While she may not be a stranger to making gymnast enthusiasts watch and listen, in this routine she definitely made the world stop.
Carry on.
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