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Nia Dennis gained viral attention for two of her floor performances as a college gymnast for the University of California, Los Angeles. But it was his most recent routine – made to a mix of songs from influential black artists from Kendrick Lamar to Megan Thee Stallion and quickly dubbed “#BlackExcellence” on social media – that was so blown away by the 22-year-old. years. It’s a concept, Dennis tells Yahoo Life, that arose out of her own need to validate her identity as a black woman.
“For a long time, I wanted my skin color to be different. For a long time, I wanted my hair to fall out and I didn’t want it to stay straight. For a long time, I wished that the chalk did not. I can’t show off on my legs, ”she said. “I didn’t even accept who I was, so it was so important for me to find out who I was as a woman, so that not only could I see myself but also others could see me.”
This journey to self-love and acceptance had a pivotal start for Dennis in 2016, when she tore her achilles and had to give up her dream of becoming an Olympic gymnast. “I never wanted to do gymnastics again,” she recalls. “I never wanted to come back to sport.” But with her eyes fixed on another life goal – attending UCLA – Dennis finally began working to restore her confidence and, more importantly, explore who she really was.
“Honestly, I had a hard time figuring out who I was outside of gymnastics and I just felt like gymnastics defined me. That’s all I’ve done my whole life, and I ‘devoted so much time to it, ”she says. “Then my team at UCLA allowed me to grow as a woman and discover who I am and what I have to offer and contribute. [And] allowed me to express myself, to express my personality, to let it shine, to show it and to stay authentically true to myself, because that is what matters most. “
As a junior performing a floor routine to the sounds of Beyoncé Back home documentary, about his landmark performance at Coachella in 2018, Dennis quickly rose to internet fame, gaining recognition from celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Gabrielle Union. Still, she had a tumultuous break ahead of her final season on the team as she recovered from shoulder surgery and faced the Black Lives Matter movement account over the summer.
“It was probably the greatest experience in my progression to becoming a woman,” Dennis says of the country’s response to racial injustice. “I just felt like everything was falling into place.”
After the recognition of this routine from February 2020, the gymnast decided to have an even bigger impact with a performance she titled “The Culture”. And on the Internet, routine has become associated with the hashtag #BlackExcellence.
“Black excellence, to me, is a celebration and a culmination of all the great things black people have done, in all categories – in sports and academics, in science and medicine, everything,” explains Dennis. “It’s not that we just bring great things to the community. We’re good at the things we do, so it’s just a celebration of it all.”
More so, it became a celebration for Dennis and all she’s overcome to be a successful black gymnast.
“The gymnastics community as a whole needs to nurture young black gymnasts because growing up I was always told I didn’t have the look. I was powerful, I had more muscle, my muscles were more defined, ”she explains. in the sport. “So that translated into the fact that I wasn’t skinny enough and was bulging out of my leotard, like always being fat, or whatever. I was called ‘fat’ a lot growing up because of my muscles, because I didn’t have the classic look or anything the gymnastics community is so used to seeing. “
While criticism of the sport is not new – as former Olympians Shawn Johnson, Aly Raisman and Simone Biles have all spoken out about the body image issues they developed from gymnastics – Dennis is hopeful his performances ready to use will be positively. impact other limits of sport.
“We have to honestly nurture, embrace, uplift all gymnasts of all kinds, all types, all walks of life, all cultures, because we all have something different to bring to the table. Not all gymnasts have it. same style, ”Dennis says. “Gymnastics is fun and should be fun and we should be allowed to express ourselves in different ways and let our personality shine through without feeling like if we are doing it we are wrong or pushing the boundaries.
Fortunately, Dennis now has the support of former first lady Michelle Obama.
“Now that’s what I call fierce!” Obama tweeted Dennis’ routine. “You are a star.”
Dennis calls her viral fame a ‘dream come true’, while admitting that she feels some pressure to continue to make a difference in her community and beyond.
“It literally fills me with so much love and joy to know that I am making this impact for young girls and younger gymnasts and younger black gymnasts,” she says. “I really want to make an impact outside of gymnastics too.”
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