Locking, a dance style that is not nearly as big as it used to be, is one of the earliest styles of hip hop dancing. How the dance is done is self-explanatory to the name, you lock your position after a series of rapid movements.
The beginning of locking can be traced all the way back to Don Campbell. The style was actually created on accident, because Campbell was not able to perform a move called “The Robot Sweep”. He would stop at a certain point during the move, which created the locking effect in his body. Campbell thought these sudden halts in his body created a very nice effect, so he started to incorporate them into his routines and choreographies, thus created the dance style Locking. From then on, Campbell formed a group called The Lockers and they popularized locking around the nation. The Lockers danced for many entertainers (including Frank Sinatra!) and were showed on a lot of TV shows, giving locking and hip-hop dance a very large audience, especially with how small hip-hop dance was at the time.
Locking “music” is basically Funk music. With a strong and steady beat, it is the perfect music for locking. Some examples include:
Ren Woods – I Don’t Wanna Stop
Jap’s Gaps – Dance To The Music
Funky Bureau – Clap Your Hands Together
Here are some examples of the dance style in action:
Koreas Got Talent – Khan and Moon
P-Lock & J. Soul Vs. Masato & Cio – Juste Debout Locking Semi-Finals
I hope you enjoyed the blog post! Keep dancing!
I never realized that popping and locking were actually two seperate styles of dance. Did one style evolve from the other? Or are the both style of breakdancing? I also had no idea that this style went back so far in time! Do you think there is a reason that these styles have gained popularity? I think that our society is much more drawn to improvisational dance rather than choreographed, and locking would obviously fit into that category.