The Difference Between Popping And Locking Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-01-28 Locking is often confused with other dance styles, most notably popping. What is locking? Is it street dance, is it hip-hop dance, is it a funk style?

The answer to this question will draw different responses from different people. However it is generally accepted that it falls under the general 'street dance category.'

It's generally accepted to be part of hip-hop history and the wider term 'hip hop dance' to include locking, popping and breaking.

It is also termed under the 'funk styles' term which is probably the most precise if you want to give it a label.

Usually it's confused with popping because locking and popping both came into being at around the same time, locking coming just before popping in the late 60s. Also many of the early adopters of these dance styles would do performances incorporating both popping and locking in them.

However it is important to note that these are 2 completely different dance styles. When locking and popping are done in the same performance it is sometimes called 'pop-locking' a slightly ambiguous term which has drawn many voices into the discussion whether it's an appropriate term.

Politics aside, locking is deemed to be one style and popping is one style. Locking is generally a lot looser incorporating 'stops' where the movement is stopped before continuing in relation with the funk rhythms.

A lot of the time the postures are quite relaxed and muscles relaxed before they may strengthen up in the actual stops.

Popping on the other hand makes use of flexing or contracting and relaxing of muscles. Often the dancer is popping different parts of the body at the same time.

Both dances draw on certain key elements in their respective styles. For example in locking, 'stopping' the moves and grooving certain moves are prerequisites however the moves themselves may carry many forms and variations.

The same applies to popping, the technique of 'popping' the muscles is used in different moves which may look different but carry the technique of popping in their execution.

Whether to include both locking and popping, or just one of them in a performance is at the dancers' discretion. Usually they would need to have some level of proficiency in both styles to attempt this while many dancers like to base performances around one style.

Of course the best way to differentiate between the dance styles is to watch each of the styles in their own right. Watching a few videos of just pure locking or just pure popping will show you the stylistic elements and many of the popular moves that each style includes.

And then when you come to watch a performance that incorporates multifarious dance styles you can say 'that's some popping' or 'that's some locking.' Quickly followed by 'I know the difference between locking and popping.'

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Kevin Shwe (aka Strawberry KS) is a locking teacher and dancer in London, UK. He continues to educate people about locking since popping and locking are still often confused today. He runs classes and also offers a DVD 'Introduction To Locking' from his website http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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Learning Locking From Tutorials Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-01-21 Locking continues to be a popular dance form today even if a somewhat underground movement. There are new people who are becoming interested in locking all the time and wish to learn some so they can do a bit for themselves.

Learning a couple of moves from a few tutorials on video websites is definitely a good start. This will start to expose you to some of the locking moves and you will know how to do them with a bit of practise.

However if you wish to take your locking further, it is important to further your education and take an approach that covers the whole dance form in more detail. This is something that can take time to achieve.

Many lockers learn for many years before they ever reach the sort of standard where they are confident performing to an audience or perhaps participate in locking battles or competitions.

The reason it is important to further your education is because locking is a very unique dance style that has its own vocabulary. It has its own performance style, way of doing things with that funky feel, unique rhythms and much more.

It takes quite a lot of exploring of the stylistic elements before you feel that you are really nailing them and actually dancing in a way that looks and feels funky to you.

The reason it takes time to reach this perch line is because an understanding of the dance is key. And once you understand what the dance is about, you also need the bodily understanding so your body knows what it's doing and to make the funkiness evident, so your dancing says something.

Education and practise is the starting place to allow these parts to come together collectively. For when they do something is achieved that is greater than the sum of its parts, something that's just so downright funky.

You must take yourself on the path to understanding the dance and continually explore this dimension as you do any new moves you learn. Whether you choose to learn from DVDs or in person with a teacher, you must pay close attention to the descriptions the instructors indulge you in.

The descriptions are the little details that make the difference. It is often said that the difference between success and failure is tiny. And the difference between understanding the dance and not understanding is tiny, but the visual output and results are miles apart.

One is the visual depiction of funk and the other is just plain empty vacuous moves...or simply put nothing.

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Kevin Shwe, otherwise known as Strawberry KS is a locking teacher from London whose locking tutorials often get thousands of views. He runs his own locking lessons in London and also has a DVD entitled 'Introduction To Locking.' Find out more about his DVD and tutorials at http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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Getting Detailed Locking Dance Instruction Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-01-12 Getting detailed locking instruction either in person or through another method is necessary in order to sweeten your locking with many of its intricacies.

It is not uncommon for talented lockers to take many years to get to where they are; often the place where they start to feel real improvement is when they feel that they've harnessed a greater understanding of the style.

For at its core, it is quite simple once you understand things such as why you're stopping the movements in certain ways, but it may take a while before you can incorporate these into your locking and it actually feels like a normal thing to do rather than some burdensome operation.

Regaling in the music and just 'feeling' it is where many of us want to go. That place of expression where the moves just seem to come out effortlessly and stylishly. This is where you meet that thing called 'freestyle.'

In locking it is a skill to be able to freestyle as well as to dance routines. As it is a style that encourages your own personality and character there are elements that only you can bring to the dance that will come out when you freestyle.

Also freestyle encourages your own thoughts to come out right in front of you and is a process of continual development as you aim to be able to express what you feel at will, on command as soon as the music kicks in and just be there.

What getting detailed locking instruction does is drill many of the basics into you and in conjunction with the learning of routines that will enable you to really get these basics down. The details that enable the locking to come alive should be practised simultaneously with the moves so that they become interlocked and are not two disparate elements.

For the moves must have feeling behind them, you shouldn't be doing moves just for the sake of doing moves. They should be saying something; they should say something about how you are feeling in that moment.

And due to the creative expression element of locking, the way you do a move may not necessarily be the same as another but both can be a realization of that unmistakeable feeling where you feel funky and just want to dance and revel in the joy.

Just like no two people will have exactly the same thoughts, no two people will freestyle in exactly the same way. They may look similar when dancing a routine in unison as a group, but when freestyle is at play you each want to be your own thing.

When you are feeling the music and in the moment, your freestyle will often fuel its own creativity. It is easier to feel the music if from the moment you begin, the funk is present.

Many of the intricacies of locking allow for this - the stylistic elements should actually make the dance easier to perform rather than be a hindrance if you practise them right.

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Additional Articles From - Home | Industry Publications | Entertainment | ArtsAbout the Author:

Kevin Shwe (Strawberry KS) is a locking teacher and dancer from London, UK. As well as teaching regular locking dance classes he has also authored a locking instructional DVD 'Introduction To Locking' which grounds beginners in the basics of the style with a focus on the funk elements. Find out more about it at http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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Locking - The Big Step Up Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-02-01 The dance journey can be compared to a wave. There's your starting place perhaps inspiration, then there's the initial difficulty of learning dance steps followed by the high of eventually getting them. Then there's the big shock when steps get harder followed by the extreme glee of nailing the harder material.

That last little sequence is what we shall look at here, i.e. the step up from beginners/ basics to more complicated and advanced locking. This is the place that can really stymie you if you're not careful.

It is perhaps at this point you uncover all your unconscious obstacles as well as physical obstacles. It may be the first instance where you begin doubting yourself and your ability to succeed.

It is where everything comes out for in times of emotional upheaval this is often what happens. From this disequilibrium you will begin to see everything in the back of your mind, all the excuses and obstacles which may not have come out previously.

Things such as, "I'm not good enough" or "this is too difficult for me" or "I want to give up" or in the shape of doubts "can I really do this?" and "do I have what it takes?"

At this point if I were to add that this is where the dance journey will stop for many learners you probably wouldn't be surprised!

When we have all these doubts and obstacles laid out in front of us what we are really dealing with is pain or perceived pain. These are merely excuses to keep you away from more pain.

As Rocky Balboa beautifully stated, "It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward."

There will be times when you can't do something, but that does not mean you will not be able to do it in future. You have to keep pushing forward, you must announce to yourself that you are not a quitter and stand tall.

Why do I think this is so important? Because I learnt these lessons the hard way. In previous ventures before dancing I was never a quitter but would beat myself up when I did not do well.

Why give yourself another obstacle? Instead what I do now is laugh it off. Not laugh it off in the sense of I don't care, but in the frame of "this doesn't matter that much" when you make a mistake whilst animated by taking steps to remove the obstacle and move forward.

So the way you conduct yourself is going to be another critical factor in the level of success you attain or fail to attain.

Your ability to attenuate doubts, make them inaudible or else strip them of their power as well as charge forward and go for what you want will have a pronounced effect on your final results.

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Kevin Shwe (Strawberry KS) is a dancer and dance teacher based in London. He continues to spread locking through his locking classes and also his DVD 'Introduction To Locking' which delves right into the basics and making locking funky. You can find exclusive videos at http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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Locking Videos - The Best Place To Start Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-02-02 With the advent of YouTube, there's been a very fast coming of age for many dance styles. Styles which are often considered somewhat underground such as locking, popping and breaking now have a much wider audience.

Due to the worldwide success and prevalence of YouTube you now have the opportunity to watch and learn from dancers that just a few years earlier you may never even have heard of. And as in any field, there are many talented people who are perhaps not household names that you can discover as well. I have experienced many instances where I've stumbled across a 'related video' to find a dancer or choreographer I knew nothing about but said to myself "I don't know who that was, but that sure was good!!"

So I sometimes get asked for my advice on where you should start looking when it comes to locking videos and dancers.
In my mode of thinking, the most natural and logical place to begin would be at the beginnings at the roots from the guys who created the dance, i.e. Don Campbell and The Lockers.

There may only be a handful of videos up there, though I do recall attending a Don Campbell masterclass (a good grounding in the history of the dance) and he had videos of locking footage he had. But from these OG videos you can glean where the dance started from with everything from what has become the classic locking uniform to the individual styles of each of The Lockers.

Watching this OG footage I would definitely recommend at some point, a few years ago you had the excuse of it being hard to find, now you can watch it if you have an internet connection! Apart from this historical footage which remains relevant, I really believe what is really important when looking at locking videos is to find people that inspire you.

For if locking is something you are serious about getting good at, then your endeavour will only be as strong as how inspired you can remain on your journey. And where does this inspiration come from? People whose dancing you find inspiring and also the dreams you hold for yourself.

While I could name some lockers worth watching, it is worth doing some discovering for yourself as there are many different style of locking. What's one person's button is another's zip.

If you find the dancers that make you light up and fly out of your seat eager with determination to learn what you're witnessing you're finding inspiration. The final message I would add is don't spend all day watching videos. If your true intention is to be good at locking, only you can do the work your inspiration cannot do the work for you.

It can fuel you up and start the engine but you've still gotta drive the damn thing. There is a vital distinction to be made: What you're after is inspiration not dependency.

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Kevin Shwe (aka Strawberry KS) is a locking dancer and teacher based in London. He continues to coach dancers through his locking videos, lessons and DVD 'Introduction To Locking.' Find out more about his exclusive videos at http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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Are You Learning To Dance Locking? Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-01-25 Like undertaking the task of learning any dance style, learning locking takes time, practice and perseverance.

There is also another vital ingredient if you wish to take it to a high standard. And that ingredient heeds itself in the form of an understanding of the dance.

When you are a beginner you will be eager to charge towards learning the moves, which is understandable and in fact to some extent the moves do play a role in locking's signature style.

However possibly even more critical is to grasp and to understand the dance itself. For there is something that underpins even all these moves and it makes itself known in the form of 'funk.'

Funk is a vital ingredient of locking. It cannot exist without it. This is not talking even about funk being pervasive in your surroundings but having that funk inside you, so that is a part of you and your dancing.

Funk does not need to be surrounding you if you have the funk in you. You do not even need music to dance to if there's music inside you.

A prime example of the funk being with you is watching 'The Lockers' dancing to Swan Lake if you can ever get your hands on the footage or DVD. Swan Lake would not be classed as funk music by any stretch of the imagination, yet The Lockers are still funky when they dance to its soundtrack and make the performance work.

There are elements to locking that make it work and make it different from other styles. And this leads to why you should learn locking as a style in its own right.

Often elements of locking will be incorporated into choreographies that may include other dance styles but if you wish to learn locking to a high standard you really need to take the time to learn it on its own.

Figure out its structure and grooves, its touches and subtle flavours that make it unique. Once you can see why these elements are in place you can develop a bigger picture and begin to understand with greater clarity what you can bring to the dance.

You need to know what the 'rules' are before you can break them. Having said that 'rules' would be a rather terse term and is really being used to say 'what the dance embodies that makes it unique and makes it function properly'.

You want your locking to look like locking. And that comes from understanding all of these various elements that are characteristic of locking.

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Additional Articles From - Home | Industry Publications | Entertainment | ArtsAbout the Author:

Kevin Shwe (Strawberry KS) is a locking teacher that coaches students who want to learn locking through his classes, videos and DVDs. Find out more about his videos and lessons at http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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12 Tips For Choosing A Locking DVD Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-02-17 A locking DVD can be an exciting purchase - for many people this event will highlight the beginning of their locking education. So I've decided to compile a list of my top 12 tips when selecting a locking dance DVD for learning purposes:

1. Search for a DVD that will help you learn how you are using your body as you dance, not just do the moves. You want to dance with feeling, not just be a man made robot capable of pulling off a few moves.

2. Aim to get hold of a DVD that will teach you how to be funky when you do the moves. It's all about the funk, whatever you do in locking has got to be funky and it's a big part of the dance.

3. See if you can get samples of the instructor's teaching style to make sure that it suits you. Teachers have different ways of explaining things and you are bound to find some that you are more comfortable learning from than others.

4. Learn from teachers that have expended a lot of time and energy into learning locking. In other words you want to learn from a teacher that will have some of their own knowledge to pass on, as opposed to someone that has learnt it as a fourth or fifth choice dance style.

5. Don't expect one DVD to teach you everything! One hour of teaching would just be skimming the surface.

6. Make sure everything is broken down for you. When you are in the learning stage, you want to know exactly what each part of your body is doing and when. You don't want to second guess!

7. Select the right level. If you are a beginner, start at beginners!

8. Make sure your instructor knows who Don Campbell is!

9. If you are buying a locking DVD, don't expect a popping and locking DVD unless it says that's what it is. A locking DVD will normally be just that - just locking included.

10. Make sure your instructor knows the difference between popping and locking!

11. Expect to work hard - don't select a DVD because you think it will keep you seated in your chair.

12. Do your own research. In addition to getting your hands on a DVD, learn about the history of the dance, get to lessons and learn as much as you can about the dance style you are studying.

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Additional Articles From - Home | Industry Publications | Entertainment | ArtsAbout the Author:

Kevin Shwe (Strawberry KS) is a locking teacher living in London, UK. He teaches many locking lessons, has his own locking DVD out and loves to share his love for locking with students everywhere. Find out more about him and his videos at http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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Do Locking Tutorial DVDs Have Anything To Offer? Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-01-20 Locking is something that the more you get involved in it, the digger you deep and really immerse yourself in its milieu, the more satisfaction you will derive.

Unfortunately in many places around the world this level of detailed instruction in locking is just not available. If you're lucky enough to live in a city where there are teachers, you should with alacrity rush to them if they are respectable teachers and dancers.

So what of those of you who are not in line with such a blessing? The other option will be to learn from locking tutorial DVDs. Actually there aren't many locking DVDs out there which probably reflects its somewhat underground status and that there are less people who do locking than perhaps hip hop, salsa or other styles.

What locking DVDs have to offer is that they have a temporal advantage. A DVD may be an hour or two and in that time you can cover much more of the style and with more effectiveness than from a 5 minute tutorial.

Of course 1 or 2 hours is probably not going to be enough to turn you into a locking master, however a large part of the deal is practise. You will not master 1 or 2 hours of education in 1 or 2 hours. It will take many hours to really learn what you are taught in 1 or 2 hours.

Once you've learnt these moves you can then set forth exploring their relation with other moves and how you can combine moves together in fashions that may not be covered in the DVD.

The thing with locking is that mastering the basics is very important as you come back to these time and time again.

It is worth spending the time nailing the basics and getting them down rather than learning lots of moves without any real proficiency. For it's not about the moves, it's about HOW you do the moves.

This is pretty much an all encompassing rule in all of dance that you can internalize for yourself. It's the reason why two dancers can do the same move and one makes you go 'wow' and the other makes you want to put lemon slices in your eyes.

And this proficiency comes from paying attention to the details, which a DVD can do effectively. It can show you the many facets to a move rather than just the basic move.

The better you get, the more detailed you will have to get to find real improvement. So you're having to explore more and more to get to the real fabric of it.

What this also does is prepare you for more advanced material. More advanced moves often deal with bigger movements, hence if it looks wrong it will probably look really wrong as your arms and legs will be swinging all over the park!

If you've spent time mastering basics, you have that sensitivity and acuteness to detail that can then make these moves work without having to do extra trudging.

The acumen you develop from mastering the basics is a keen eye to detail, which is one of the bedrocks of all great dancers. It all starts with the basics.

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Kevin Shwe aka Strawberry KS is a locker and locking teacher based in London, UK. He is the author of the locking tutorial DVD 'Introduction To Locking' that helps beginners into the basics and funky elements of the locking dance style. Find out more about it at http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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Looking To Start Dancing Locking? Posted By : Kevin Shwe

By: Kevin Shwe
Post Date: 2010-02-10 So how do you learn locking, where do you start, what's the best way to go about it? All good questions that shall be addressed here in this quick article.

The thing to know about locking is that essentially it's about personal expression. It's about expressing what you want to do, doing what you feel like doing.

Of course before you can get to this point and be really creative, you really need to understand and know the dance beforehand. You need to know the dance, what it is all about, what makes it work and what makes it unique.

Once you've got this down and can do the dance then the real expression can begin, and you can start introducing your personality and character into the dance.

Before we can reach this destination of course, we must feed the stomach and educate ourselves about locking. And how do you do this?

Well you have several options. If at all possible try and learn in class from a teacher that knows their stuff. This is very effective as you can learn, ask questions and observe all at the same time.

The other main option is to learn from a DVD. This is also possible and can equip you with enough knowledge of the dance and the moves that you can then begin creating for yourself.

The thing that is important when learning from a DVD is that of course you need to do it, and not just watch it. Inside a class they'll have you working for a full hour or more, from a DVD you can't be lazy and have to get up and do it!

But if you're willing to give it a go, this can also be effective. It is also important that the DVD doesn't become a crux and videos become an endless search for new moves.

It's not about the moves, combinations or rhythms that other dancers are doing. It's about learning what you need to know, and then using this knowledge to do what you want to do.

One of the things I remember when hearing Don Campbell speak at a talk he held in London is that he chose the members of his dance crew because they were all individuals and danced uniquely.

He would for example watch one of the dancers and think, "I don't know how to do that but it looks good and it's locking!"

Once you know what you're doing, know what the moves are and how to make them funky then you've got knowledge. So now the quest is not to be identical to another dancer, but to be you and offer something of your own for the world to see.

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Additional Articles From - Home | Industry Publications | Entertainment | ArtsAbout the Author:

Kevin Shwe (Strawberry KS) is a professional dancer and locking teacher from London, UK. He continues to spread his love for locking to all those interested in dancing locking through his classes, videos and DVD 'Introduction To Locking.' Find out more about him and his videos at http://www.lockingvideos.com/

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