Met Gala 2021: Watch gymnast Nia Dennis, marching band make grand entrance

NEW YORK — Move over, Rihanna and Kim Kardashian: A new face has fans flipping over her grand Met Gala entrance.

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Photos: Gymnast Nia Dennis, marching band steal the show at Met Gala 2021 US gymnast Nia Dennis arrives for the 2021 Met Gala at the Metropolitan Museum of Art on September 13, 2021, in New York. (ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images)

According to The Associated Press and Vogue, former UCLA gymnast Nia Dennis, whose Black culture-inspired floor exercises have been going viral since 2020, kicked off the festivities Monday at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art with a red carpet tumbling routine as the Brooklyn United Marching Band played “Uptown Funk” and other songs.

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“This is how we have fun. This is how we perform,” Dennis told Vogue of the routine, directed by Raja Feather Kelly and Rachel Chavkin. “This is how we get crazy. This is Black entertainment.”

>> Watch the moment here

The 22-year-old, clad in a blue bodysuit by Adidas by Stella McCartney, wasn’t the only gymnast at the gala. Seven-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles, 24, wore an 88-pound gown by Area and Athleta to the event, according to the AP. Meanwhile, Biles’ teammate Sunisa Lee, who won the individual all-around in Tokyo, lit up the red carpet in a shimmery gold top and long skirt.

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2021 MET Gala arrivals Valentina Sampaio attends The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute benefit gala celebrating the opening of the "In America: A Lexicon of Fashion" exhibition on Monday, Sept. 13, 2021, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) (Evan Agostini/Invision)

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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