[blue steel]

while freestyling, i'm pretty sure most lockers rely on the bread and butter moves: the muscleman, the lock, wrist rolls, giving fives etc. and of course theres the kneedrops, half splits, leo walks and scooby doos etc. however, aside from that, that leaves a lot to personal interpretation and individual creativity. and it's from these one can take the same 9 or so moves, and make it into 30.

what i'm trying to say is that basic moveset in locking isn't exactly as extensive as something like ballet, but it's the individual who makes it so.

however, i know that part of being creative is incorporating your own moves and making them funky, or even your own interpretations to tried and true moves, even if it may look unorthodox.

so what i want to know is how often do lockers out there find themselves using the fundamental dance moves, as opposed to throwing a unique move/move-interpretation with a locking/funky type flavor? where do you draw the line?

and if you do bring in a bunch of unique moves, from where do you draw your inspiration?

i ask this because i know wavedash stated in his critique of suga pop that he puts in a lot of random (non-locking) dance moves into his locking; the gist of the critique being that these non-locking dance moves were his weakness.

i want to be able to draw upon my past experiences as a latin dancer as a source for creativity in my locking. i for one practice and rely on many fundamental locking moves, but at the same time i don't want to be vilified if i try to bring in a move from another style and attempt to make it funky (i.e. executing scoobots with a samba flavor).

opinions?

[Nice85]

ummm..................... i'll say this

understand the concept of the moves/locking

[blue steel]

Originally Posted by Nice85

ummm..................... i'll say this

understand the concept of the moves/locking

believe me, i spend a lot of time and will be spending a lot of time in the future trying to fully grasp locking regardless of my skill level.

[Commander Keen]

I think you can be sure that you're keeping within the spirit of the dance if you follow these guidelines:

If it looks camp, it's locking
If it looks cool, watch out, you might be popping
If it looks difficult, beware! You might be b-boying.

I guess I should give fair mention that if it looks slightly drunk, you're probably housing.

[k1ng]

from my understanding, locking is, in a way, much more traditionally preserved than other street dances...changing or adding your spin on certain moves isn't really what defines locking.
rather than creating anew, the locker is committed to perfecting the pre-existing funk and mastering original technique.
modern locking has elevated to some physically demanding heights, but the style retains much of its initial form. also, the music that locking caters to today has expanded a bit farther into house...
anyway,
i don't think there's a problem with mixing styles and innovating...however, the traditional definition of a locker probably will not hold its own. it depends on how much you choose to affect your style with your "creativity". you could very well be in the realm of newstyling instead of locking.

[blue steel]

i guess your right k1ng. i figure once i expand my move repetoire i'll be able to figure out more ways to mix things up. i just freak out in cyphers when i wind up repeating moves (aside from the lock and sam points) more than once. i suppose what will ultimately define my style is, among other things, the types of move combinations; perhaps here and there, i can throw in a couple of character gestures as well.

[Electrolux]

hmmm, is locking camp? are you saying that because it's a happy dance?

I would have said, if you look like a friendly jack-in-the-box, you're locking!

[wavedash]

ask the originals what they did and they will all give you more or less the same answer.

[Scramblelock]

I would have said, if you look like a friendly jack-in-the-box, you're locking!

Ive had a few discussions with some lockers about this

Locking is NOT a clown dance. The outfits worn back in th 70s by the lockers were a way to stick out from the crowd, to be unique, especially when doing stage shows

But a lot of people are getting the wrong idea thinking you have to goof off and act like a clown when you lock
Being spontaneous and having fun is important but locking is not a clown dance, a few of you have even mentioned that within a few of these posts