UCLA star gymnast Nia Dennis caught our eye last year when she performed a viral routine inspired by Beyoncé’s Homecoming. Now in the past year, she is back with another nod to black culture in a new floor routine that once again went viral over the weekend. Dennis competed at the University of California, Los Angeles, against Arizona State, incorporating music by Kendrick Lamar, Missy Elliott, 2Pac, Megan Thee Stallion and, of course, Beyoncé in his routine. The performance featured Dennis stepping (a tribute to his father, who was involved in Greek life, she said later) and raising his fist as a greeting from Black Power, along with, otherwise, just dazzling the audience. We thought it was perfect and the judges almost agreed, giving Dennis a score of 9.95 which led to UCLA’s victory. At the post-victory press conference, Dennis called the routine a “dance party”. Let’s just keep waiting for this collaboration from Beyoncé.
