Sophina DeJesus, a senior on UCLA’s gymnastics team significantly shook things up on her floor routine this past weekend. Most floor routines are associated with tumbling and splits, which DeJesus nailed perfectly. The added bonus of her sassy routine: adding moves from whip, nae, nae, hit the quan, and other hip-hop steps.
The surprising moves between the tumbles made for an enthusiastic crowd, ecstatic teammates, and a viral video. According to NYTimes.com DeJesus says, “I love dancing. I wanted to end my senior year with a bang.”
This was her first floor exercise of the season, and it’s not only her best event — she’s an all-American on the bars. Her score for the floor routine on Saturday was 9.925, prompting the question of whether fun moves are helpful or less favored among judges.
Samantha Peszek who is an Olympic silver medalist and former UCLA gymnastic teammate says, “The only time dance choreography would hurt a score is if it was inappropriate or if they considered it ‘sloppy.’ But most of the time, if the entertainment value is in a floor routine, it can only help the score.”
