Photo: Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty
University of California, Los Angeles gymnastNia Dennisis advocating for the importance of representation through her dynamic gymnastics moves.
Last month, Dennis broke the internet (once again) after her eye-catching floor routine went viral during her team’s season-opener competition against Arizona State University.
With thehigh-energy routine— set to a soundtrack filled with songs from Black musicians includingKendrick Lamar,Tupac Shakur,Beyoncé,Missy Elliott,Megan Thee Stallion, andSoulja Boy— a sparkling Dennis helped clinch her school’s victory.
And while the UCLA senior is always excited about a win, the athlete also looks forward to using her unique talents and platform to educate fans about Black culture.
“Here at UCLA, everybody has a freedom to pick your music and do kind of the theme and style that you want to do,” Dennis, 21, tells PEOPLE. “Last year, I was going for a majorettes Beyoncé, vibe. So, there was a lot of culture in that but a lot of people didn’t really get it. They didn’t really see it …,” she says, referring to herfirst viral floor routine in 2020. The sensational performance captured the essence of Historical Black Colleges and Universities homecomings, celebrating Black fraternity and sorority step shows and drumlines — a theme that was famously replicated in Beyonce’s 2018 Coachella headlining set.
Continuing, Dennis says, “A lot of people didn’t really understand that a lot of that was Black culture. I wanted to make it evidently clear, Black culture in the sport of gymnastics is not very known. It’s heavily overlooked.”
“There’s not a lot of Black gymnasts so representation is very important and I wanted to bring the Black culture to the sport of gymnastics, especially given the reach that UCLA gymnastics gets in our platform,” she explains. “I definitely wanted to capitalize and use it and really get the message that Black Lives Matter across.”
“All of the artists that I chose have had a huge impact in the Black community. Kendrick Lamar, he’s a huge activist in his music,” Dennis says. “We’re not allowed to use any words or noises into your floor music. So since I wasn’t able to say it or speak it, I wanted to have the same message come across in a different way through music, through dance. I hope that’s how it came across.”
Nia Dennis.UCLA Gymnastics Twitter
Even former First LadyMichelle Obamachampioned the gymnast, tweeting that Dennis was “fierce.”
Dennis feels she’s working as an activist in her own way, while also having fun showing off her personality to the world through her skillset.
“This routine is a reflection of everything that I am as a woman today. I’m still finding myself, but currently, this is where I am,” she tells PEOPLE.
And Dennis is looking to the future, post-graduation. “After college, I definitely want to do anything in entertainment,” she says.
source: people.com
