Chae Campbell Perfect-10 UCLA Floor Routine
Chae Campbell's "Dancehall" Floor Routine Earned Her a Perfect 10
Sophomore Chae Campbell received her first-ever perfect 10 as a UCLA gymnast on Feb. 27 with a crowd-pleasing floor routine — her choreography and sky-high tumbling were equal parts watch-worthy. Campbell tells POPSUGAR that she went to a dance convention over the summer and was "so inspired by the talent, dance styles, and energy, which sparked the inspiration for this year's routine."
Campbell calls this is a "Dancehall routine" where she and choreographer BJ Das brought in "some authentic Jamaican dance moves that are popular in the dance community." She further says, "I was so excited to bring a piece of that energy to the gymnastics world." The performance, according to UCLA, featured a mashup of the following songs:
- "Cadence" by Travis Lake
- "What's My Name" by Rihanna
- "Temperature" by Sean Paul
- "Pon de Replay" by Rihanna
- "Never Leave You (Uh Oooh, Uh Oooh)" by Lumidee
- "Get Busy" by Sean Paul
- "Murder She Wrote" by Chaka Demus & Pliers
- "Rave De Favela" by Major Lazer, Anitta, and MC Lan feat. BEAM
- "Move Ya Body" by Nina Sky feat. Jabba
In the video above, you'll see Campbell do a full-in (a full-twisting double backflip with the full twist in the first flip) for her opening tumbling pass, a clean front handspring to a front layout and front full for her second pass, and a double tuck to finish out the routine. She says the complex dance break section after her second pass is the "most fun" part of her routine where she can show off the intricate choreography.
"I went back into the locker room, and I just took a moment to myself, and I said, 'Why not get a 10.00 today?' And I'm so glad that it happened," Campbell shared on the live Pac-12 broadcast on Feb. 27. She added that she tries to stay true to what she does in practice — and it paid off. After three consecutive losses, UCLA besting the University of Washington 197.125 to 194.300.
The UCLA gymnastics season started amid turmoil as team coaches and leadership reportedly failed to address racist language used by a freshman who later transferred to LSU. Instead of specifically asking Campbell about said conflict and its impact on team morale, Pac-12's Jim Watson inquired if Campbell thought Sunday's victory was them breaking out of "drama" surrounding the program. In response, she stated that she thinks the Bruins are "very resilient" and they're going to "kill" the second half of the season.
Campbell, who was crowned Pac-12 co-champion on floor with last year's "desert goddess"-themed routine, has wowed us with yet another performance for the 2022 season.
