Discover your style
Funk rhythm snaps into a point, a wide pose, and a playful surprise.
Reader guide
Learner voices
A locking discussion recommends drilling core steps, recording yourself, and finding a live funk scene as soon as possible. Dancers stress groove and creative combinations, not only a long step list.
Reddit r/FunkStyle: getting into locking ↗Community experience; the thread is eleven years old.
Source notes
These links keep the page's evidence visible. Local class details describe access and teaching; they are not presented as global rankings or a single origin story.
The 2019 Red Bull feature traces locking from Los Angeles streets and Soul Train to global battles. It names The Lockers, the GoGo Brothers, Wattstax, Soul Train, Jeffrey Daniel's backslide/moonwalk connection, and the role of fashion, television, and community.
Boundary: An editorial history with attributed scene language; its crew and influence account is not a complete or ranked genealogy.
The companion feature profiles Charles ‘Robot’ Washington, Don ‘Campbellock’ Campbell, Damita Jo Freeman, the Toota Woota Sisters, Toni ‘Mickey’ Basil, Tony ‘Go Go’ Lewis, Shabba-Doo, and Scoo B Doo, with South Central Los Angeles, Soul Train, Japan, and named move context.
Boundary: A source-named pioneer set rather than a universal top-teacher list; some origin stories and superlatives remain attributed to the article.
The official page presents the 20th-edition Juste Debout finals at Stade Pierre de Coubertin in Paris and lists Locking among the final disciplines, alongside Popping, Hip-Hop Newstyle, House, Experimental, and other formats. It names Massato as the Locking judge and describes seven days of events, workshops, conferences, parties, and international pre-selections.
Boundary: The page calls Juste Debout the biggest international hip-hop meeting and the world's biggest Street Dance event; those are organiser claims. The page also mixes 2025 and 2026 date text, so date-sensitive copy needs an archive label and a fresh event check.
The direct page is titled ‘TONY GOGO(THE LOCKERS) JUDGE DEMO WDC 2017 FINAL WORLD DANCE COLOSSEUM Day1’, uploaded by nekomon1. It displays a 1:38 duration, about 6.4k views, and Tony GoGo as the performer.
Boundary: A showcase upload with displayed metadata, not a popularity ranking or complete event record.
TeamSKIPtv's direct page shows ‘Locking Judge Demo - Go Go Family (Tony GoGo, Rei, Yuu) | 20140302 OBS Vol.8’, 4:33, and about 722k views. The description identifies Tony GoGo with The Lockers/Original GoGo Brothers and Rei with GoGo Brothers/Japan.
Boundary: A high-reach archive showcase; displayed views are time-bound and do not establish a global best-video ranking.
The direct page is ‘Go Go Brothers Guestshow’, uploaded by Jay_7o2, with a 3:06 duration, about 205k views, and a 2009 marker in the description area.
Boundary: An older crew showcase with displayed metadata; it is a viewing anchor, not proof of current scene size or event status.
Open 16+ beginner class on Mondays and Wednesdays at 20:00 with FunkyKriss. The page focuses on locking foundations, grooves, coordination, rhythm, choreography, improvisation, body awareness, and community safety.
Boundary: Local syllabus and teacher statement; the page does not establish a global history or popularity ranking for Locking.
Billboard's 2022 feature presents Big Gigantic's 30-song funk selection, including Zapp, Parliament, James Brown, Funkadelic, The Whispers, and other 1960s–1980s recordings.
Boundary: An editorial funk list used as an adjacent soundtrack shelf, not a Popping or Locking canon and not a dance ranking.
The Rotterdam dance house describes Locking as a playful Los Angeles street dance created by Don Campbell, with freezes, points, wrist rolls, jumps, splits, audience interaction, and The Lockers' television reach.
Boundary: A concise teaching page; it supports movement and lineage leads but not a global competition or teacher ranking.
Watch examples
Linked by the page we read; not a popularity ranking.
YouTube — Tony GoGo WDC 2017 judge demoOpen the original source ↗Linked by the page we read; not a popularity ranking.
YouTube — Go Go Family Tony GoGo, Rei and Yuu judge demoOpen the original source ↗Linked by the page we read; not a popularity ranking.
YouTube — Go Go Brothers GuestshowOpen the original source ↗The short version
Locking is a playful funk dance where fast movement is suddenly stopped by a clear lock. Pointing, wrist rolls, jumps, splits, humour, and audience connection give it stage character.
Los Angeles and the Soul Train scene are historical hubs; today's teaching network is visible through Rotterdam's HipHopHuis, Vilnius's Low Air, the GoGo Brothers' Japan line, and international battle networks.
The official 2026 Juste Debout page lists Locking among the Paris final disciplines and Massato as its category judge. The page calls the event the biggest international hip-hop meeting, but that is organiser copy; no independently verified biggest Locking event is claimed.
Locking formed in Los Angeles in the late 1960s and spread through funk music, The Lockers, television, and international classes.
HipHopHuis and Red Bull stress humour, play, confidence, fashion, television history, and connection with the audience. Learning should keep that character instead of reducing Locking to a list of freezes.
Listening shelf
#24 in Billboard's funk list; a starting point for Good Foot and funk rhythm.
#29 in Billboard's list; a clear, easy-to-recognise funk anchor.
#1 in Billboard's list; a starting point for electro-funk texture.
#12 in Billboard's list; a groove and stage-playfulness cue.
#16 in Billboard's list; a P-Funk energy and repeated-groove anchor.
People to know
HipHopHuis identifies him as the creator and connects the early name Campbellocking to Los Angeles.
Read the source ↗HipHopHuis describes the crew as important to Locking's spread through television, concerts, and stages worldwide.
Read the source ↗Red Bull connects him to the first synchronised locking group, The Lockers, and bringing Locking to Japan in the 1980s.
Read the source ↗Red Bull presents her as Don Campbell's first dance partner on Soul Train and a distinctive stage figure who worked with James Brown.
Read the source ↗The official Juste Debout 2026 site lists Massato among the Locking judges; this is an event role, not a global teacher ranking.
Read the source ↗The Low Air page names him as the teacher of an open beginner class and its Locking foundations.
Read the source ↗Watch
A directly read 1:38 nekomon1 upload from the WDC 2017 final featuring Tony GoGo.
nekomon1Open the original source ↗TeamSKIPtv's 2014 judge demo; the page displays about 722k views.
TeamSKIPtvOpen the original source ↗A 2009 Go Go Brothers showcase; the page displays about 205k views.
Jay_7o2Open the original source ↗Checked 2026-09-18. Direct pages were read for the claims below. Search leads stay labelled.
Still missing: There is no independent global Locking event ranking or a clear-reuse image licence confirmed; Commons search returned only uncleared archival and commercial options. No reliable current global ranking was found: top fives and the “biggest” event are not presented as facts here.
Teaches in: Vilnius
Emilis Pilionis (Lime / DJ Lime) is a Vilnius-based DJ and music producer with experience as a dancer, choreographer and teacher. He started dancing at five and has focused mainly on House since 2011.
Teaches in: Vilnius
Kristina Klioštoraitytė, known as FunkyKriss, is a street dance performer, choreographer and teacher. She graduated from LMTA in 2025.