Melina Williams
UCLA gymnastics have continued to impress the world, and Nia Dennis’ recent routine celebrating #BlackExcellence was no exception.
Her viral floor routine has prompted responses from Michelle Obama and Janet Jackson, a routine which saw Dennis perform in a blue leotard to an upbeat mashup of Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, Megan Thee Stallion, Soulja Boy and Tupac Shakur in a dual meet against Arizona State. The piece was immediately praised as a tribute to Black Excellence, an impressive routine which boasted an important message and a huge double backflip just months after a shoulder surgery and a COVID-driven hiatus from training!
This clip is not the first of its kind to go viral, many other young gymnasts have found their routines streamed millions of times online. Such examples include Louisiana State’s Lloimincia Hall in 2014, who received a perfect score in her floor routine, UCLA’s Sophina DeJesus whose 2016 season debut made her a viral sensation and Katelyn Ohashi’s powerful, modern piece just two years ago. Dennis herself has experienced popularity before, with her Homecoming-themed floor work from last year generating over 30 million views and even leading her to The Ellen Show in March. It is not coincidental that so many of these successful, viral routines have come from under the supervision of UCLA’s long-term coach, Valorie Kondos Field, a former classical dancer who, before her recent retirement, managed to cultivate the Bruins into one of America’s most decorated programs.
The emergence of such routines, however, does beg the question: why do we not see routines of this nature at the Olympics? Most of us only watch gymnastics every four years when the Games roll around, and we are yet to witness gymnastics as we see in these videos.
[College gymnasts have] a certain freedom and an opportunity to engage with the current political and social climates
The answer to that is that college gymnastics is an entirely different sport to Olympic gymnastics. College athletes are left more time to work on performance and choreography due the fewer difficulty requirements, whilst everything added to an Olympic routine must, in some way, also add to the difficulty. Further, Olympic gymnasts make use of music which will not distract from their skills, a restriction that many college gymnasts do not face, allowing them a certain freedom and an opportunity to engage with the current political and social climates.
Dennis stated that the Black Lives Matter movement was really a foundation for her routine, as she wanted to show and celebrate Black people and what they can overcome, and in the routine she is seen to kneel with her fist in the air, a powerful move. Every single song on her track was by a Black artist from different periods who “had a huge impact on Black culture, which has also had a huge impact on [her],” Dennis stated in an interview, and she took the opportunity to celebrate Black people and have fun in doing so. Watching Dennis have so much fun, alongside the incredible support from her teammates on the side lines, in many ways also offers an experience of the sport that moves away from the dogmatic narrative of Olympic gymnastics and shows that it can be enjoyable.
Dennis […] is doing gymnastics her way, a refreshing, positive approach to a sport which often has such a monastic narrative
Ohashi, mentioned earlier as another young gymnast whose routine went viral, is another example of this rediscovery of joy in the sport. At just 14 years old, Ohashi was considered a shoo-in for Olympic success, before some major injuries which caused her to abandon those dreams. As a result, however, she found joy in the sport again at college level and became a sensation. Dennis had similar dreams, but an Achilles injury thwarted those too, and so instead she is doing gymnastics her way, a refreshing, positive approach to a sport which often has such a monastic narrative.
Unfortunately, alongside all the positive responses to Nia Dennis’s routine, there were also some less than complimentary reactions. Some viewers took to the comments to question why race was being brought into the gym, what “her skin colour has to do with it,” and what it would have been like had a white gymnast performed this excellent routine.
The G-PAC […] has been born, a student-led initiative which brings together members from different universities in order to foster inclusion and diversity in the sport
Until fairly recently, the sport has been dominated by white athletes, with the few Black gymnasts having to face the obstacles that come with being Black in an institutionally white sport. Many have faced intense racism, with Gabby Douglas revealing that she almost quit at age 14 due to bullying regarding her race. This is changing, though, with many Black gymnasts, such as Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez, taking a stand.
As a result, the G-PAC (Gymnastics for Peace, Action, and Change) has been born, a student-led initiative which brings together members from different universities in order to foster inclusion and diversity in the sport. Thanks to these young, powerful members of G-PAC, hopefully the dismantling of such entrenched structures in USA gymnastics can begin and we can enter a world where we celebrate these beautifully talented young women.
Melina Williams
Featured image used courtesy of Michael Li via Flickr. No changes were made to this image. Image use license here.
In article video courtesy of UCLA Athletics via YouTube. No changes were made to this video.
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