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Watch viral UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis kick off the Met Gala red carpet with backflips across the iconic steps

Nia Dennis Met Gala 2021
Gymnast Nia Dennis attends the 2021 Met Gala Celebrating "In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City. John Shearer/WireImage
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The Met Gala is back with a bang — or should we say with some flips and twists. 

UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis kicked off fashion's biggest night by turning the iconic steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art into her own personal floor mat. 

Dennis — who has gone viral multiple times for her fun and fierce floor routines — brought her own marching band to the museum so she could perform for the cameras. 

As the band performed Bruno Mars' "Uptown Funk," Dennis did her best flips and splits to the cheers of fellow guests and photographers. 

Dennis sported an electric-blue Stella McCartney unitard so she could perform her best moves. 

Nia Dennis Met Gala 2021
Gymnast Nia Dennis attends the 2021 Met Gala celebrating "In America: A Lexicon Of Fashion" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021 in New York City.  Mike Coppola/Getty Images

The UCLA gymnast first went viral in 2020 when she performed a Beyoncé-themed routine during a meet. 

Dennis found herself in the headlines again in January when she performed her "Black Excellence" floor routine to a mash-up of music by Beyoncé, Missy Elliott, and Kendrick Lamar. 

"Black gymnasts are kind of rare in the sport of gymnastics," Dennis told NBC at the time. "And Black culture is not really recognized or known in the sport of gymnastics, so it was really important to me to bring that into the light of gymnastics — to raise awareness of Black culture."

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Anneta Konstantinides
Anneta Konstantinides is a lifestyle correspondent at Business Insider, with a focus on food and travel. She loves taking readers inside Michelin-starred kitchens and exploring the world of fine-dining, and she's always trying to find the best Ina Garten and Gordon Ramsay recipes. Her second home is LAX, where she's often catching a flight and reviewing airlines.Anneta has also been reporting on the pageant industry for the last six years and has interviewed every Miss USA and Miss Universe winner since 2019. She was a finalist at the LA Press Club Awards for her investigation into the  2022 Miss USA scandal and was featured in The New York Times Presents episode "How to Fix a Pageant" on Hulu in September 2023. After graduating from UCLA with a B.A in English Literature and a minor in film & television, Anneta worked as a journalist in London, Sydney, New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC. You can reach Anneta at akonstantinides@bjinnox.com.