LIZZIE GOUGH:Hi, I'm Lizzie Gough, and I'm a dancer and choreographer. 'I appeared on So You Think You Can Dance? as a finalist.
It's our judges, Lizzie!
LIZZIE GOUGH:'And also a judge on Alesha's Street Dance Stars.' Wow! That's all I can say.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Today I'm going to teach you some street dance moves in the style of locking. Now with me I have…
ALL:5XS!
There's only four of us today because our fifth member, Ryan, is on holiday.
We like street because you can meet new people doing it and express yourself in different ways.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Locking is a style of funk dance. It originated from America in the late 60s, early 70s.
LIZZIE GOUGH:'Since then, it has evolved all around the world.'
LIZZIE GOUGH:Health and safety is really important. So you have to make sure that you haven't got any chewing gum, you haven't got any jewellery, and make sure that you have the correct footwear, as this is very important.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Please make sure that you drink plenty of water as you can get very thirsty. And also if you get tired, just take a break and then come back into it.
LIZZIE GOUGH:But we haven't started yet, so let's begin. Are you ready guys?
All: Yes.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Yeah.
LIZZIE GOUGH:It's really important to warm your body up before you start dancing. So let's start with our feet apart and a really strong position. We're going to start with our heads first, you're going to look side to side.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So ready everyone? So you're going to look.
LIZZIE GOUGH:You can make it really swoop side to side, you're having a good look. Now let's keep the eyeline to the front. And still keep that swooped feeling.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now let's add a little shoulder to make it a bit more groovy.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So you can lift that shoulder up if you want.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now let's just do it a little bit quicker side to side. So you can keep it soft.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Nice. Okay, let's go to our arms. Let's start with points. So you start at your shoulder, to the side. From shoulder to the side.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now let's do it a little bit quicker.
So you're going to go one, two, one, two.
LIZZIE GOUGH:And you can look as well, warm your head up even more. Now let's do our points to the front. Still keeping it touching the other shoulder.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Brilliant. Keep it nice and strong when you point forward. Okay, now let's go to wrist rolls.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So you're going to go down, use the same wrist. So really circle your wrist to warm it up. Now let's do the other side.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So it kind of circles around where your ears are. Now we're going to do it a bit quicker. You're going to go one, two and hold. And again. One, two. So let's use the same arm.
LIZZIE GOUGH:And you slightly lean to the way you're rolling. One, two. Other way. One, two.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Brilliant. Okay, let's just step touch.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Let's get the body a little bit warmer, just shake the hands out a little bit to get all that tension out.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Lift the feet up.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Okay, now let's add a little elbow. So a bit like a funky chicken.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Brilliant. Okay, back to our marching on the spot.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now we're going to do a grapevine to the side.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Side, behind, step, together. Side, behind, step, together.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now we can add a little head here, that's it boys. Now let's add an arm as well.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now keep it really funky, so pick your legs up a little bit more. There you go. Brilliant. Okay let's just use our hips, so you're going to go side to side.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now just make it a little bit quicker, one, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three. One, two, three.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So for now we can just keep it on one level, just to get our hips moving.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Brilliant, okay. Let's do our legs this way, and let's just do, if you can, get your ribs moving. Good.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now we're going to go do a pace. We're going to go out, down, out, down.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Good.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So slowly, your arm's going in, out, in, down. In, out, in, down. No let's try both arms.
LIZZIE GOUGH:In, out, in, down. And if you can, you can still keep the chest bouncing around. Shall we try a little bit quicker? One, two, three.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Brilliant. Okay, now just give your arms a little shake, now we're going to go up. Up, out. So nice right-angle with the arm.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So it's like you're doing a muscle, flex those muscles. Yeah, so you're going up, and out, up and out. And you always come back in before you go out. Otherwise it looks a bit sloppy.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Really warm that body up. Let's do it the other way. Up. So we change our feet. That's it.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Brilliant. Now let's add some feet, so let's march. So you're going to go one, two, one, two. Now really use your body down and up. Good.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now let's add arms, so you’re going to go touch, touch, so touch your feet.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Just makes it a little bit easier for later. So keep going. Two, three, four, five, six.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Brilliant. Okay, just shake it all out. Shake everything. Take one big breath. And we're ready to begin.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now let's start with section one. You're going to start with your feet apart, and you're kind of facing the corner.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now we're going to do a pace, you have this hole in your fingers and it's a bit like a zero. You're going to pace for three, so going to go one, two, three, then you're going to step forward.
LIZZIE GOUGH:And then feet together. Now we're going to go into a scoop bot. You're going to go to the side, you punch down with both hands, you go in and we can do a cheeky little wrist wrap,
LIZZIE GOUGH:you come back, switch your hips, you switch your hips again, you come up to an Atlas, you go down, and you scoop and point to the front.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So let's do it one more time. You bring your feet to the side, that's it. You're going to do pace, two, three. Step together. You go one, down, together, up. Down, point.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Two, three, step together, you go one, down, together, up. Down, point.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Okay, let's do it a little bit faster. Let's have a go. Feet apart, ready.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Seven, eight. One, two, three, step together.
LIZZIE GOUGH:And hold. Great, well done. 'Remember to push away on your step. 'Your scoot bot. 'And stay strong on your Atlas.'
LIZZIE GOUGH:Okay, brilliant. So now onto section 2. So we've ended here,now what we're going to do is we're going to do our step together, or should I say step touch, and you're going to do your elbows.
LIZZIE GOUGH:You do that once on each side. Then on the second time you do it, you do a nice slap. And this is what we call giving myself five.
LIZZIE GOUGH:That's it. And you give it to the other side. Then what we're going to do is you're going to step apart, you're going to do two taps to the front, tap, tap.
LIZZIE GOUGH:You bring your arms down, and you do a lock, then you bring up. Tap, tap, up, lock.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now, let's try it again. Now this time is a little bit different, so you're going to go step, lock, step, lock, step, tap, step, tap.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now you're going to look at your partner, look at your partner, you're going to do a tap, tap.
LIZZIE GOUGH:You look back to the front, you do a lock, you look back at your partner, tap, tap, back, front.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Okay, so from here, this is a little bit different this time, now you're going to go one, two, three, four, with a clap.
LIZZIE GOUGH:This time to make it more fun, you're going to look at your partner on the up, tap, tap, look at the front, down, look at your partner, tap, tap, up, down.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Now let's try that a little bit faster. So shall we do it from our points.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Five, six, seven, eight. Step, lock, lock, clap, face your partner, tap, tap, lock, face your partner, and hold.
LIZZIE GOUGH:And that's section two.
LIZZIE GOUGH:'Remember your elbows on the step touch. 'Your lock. 'And partner work.'
LIZZIE GOUGH:On with section three, we're going to do a stop and go. We're going to join our feet together and we're going to make this kind of muscle man shape.
LIZZIE GOUGH:You're going to stop, you're going to bring your foot back, the same arm that goes back is the arm that comes forward, little bit confusing.
LIZZIE GOUGH:You swing this arm round, you bring the other arm round and you do a little rock forward, and back. So you just do a little hip to the front.
LIZZIE GOUGH:You swing your arm back round, and then you come back up. We do that twice. So you're going to go one, two, boom, boom, round, up, round, boom, boom, round. Then, don't go back up, then we're going to do a rock steady.
LIZZIE GOUGH:You go hip, hip, hip, hip, hip, hip, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick, quick. So let's join those together.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So you're going to go, you've just gone here,you're going to go up, back, rock, rock, round.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Up, back, rock, rock, round, rock, steady. Down, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. You're going to go, up, back, rock, rock, round.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Up, back, rock, rock, round, rock, steady. Down, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap. And make sure you go up, down, when we do that. Shall we try it a little bit quicker? So start with our feet apart.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Ready? Six, seven, eight. Up, round, hip, hip, up. Up, round, hip, hip, round. Rock steady.
LIZZIE GOUGH:And hold this position. And hold. Good.
LIZZIE GOUGH:'Remember your hips on the stop and go. 'Your arm on the rock steady. 'And keep your knees soft.'
LIZZIE GOUGH:Okay, the last section, section four. You're going to swoop, your feet are together. You're going to go up into Atlas, you're going to bring your arms down, and we're going to go into a lock.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Remember to have a hunched back on the lock. Then we're going to transfer our weight, you're going to point to the front, and point to front.
LIZZIE GOUGH:After that, we do six walks on the spot, one, two, three, four, five, six, bring your feet back to where you started.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Okay, now on those walks, make it really funky, so really let your head go and your ribs and your arms, yes, make it big. Let's try it again, that section.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So you're going to go swoop, up, down, lock, point, point, a little bit of a change. Instead of marching on the spot, let's cross over.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So six walks, one, two, three, four, five, six, hold your position. Okay, shall we try that a little bit quicker?
LIZZIE GOUGH:So you can stay where you are, and we're going to move back to where we went. So ready, five, six, seven, eight.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Swoop, up, down, lock, point, point. And march, one, two, three, four, five, six, hold your position. There you go.
LIZZIE GOUGH:'Remember to keep your points sharp, 'get funky, 'and travel on the walks.'
LIZZIE GOUGH:It's really important to cool down after you've been dancing and slow the heartrate down. So let's have our feet apart, we're going to breathe in and stretch our arms up.
LIZZIE GOUGH:So you're going to breathe in. And out. And in. And out. To the side. And hold. And hold, and then start coming out.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Stretch it down, to the other side. Really try and stretch your fingers. And hold, stretch all your side. And come back down.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Okay now let's do our shoulders. So you're going to roll them up, and drop them, and then roll them up, drop them, just give them a little shake.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Good. Okay now you're going to roll your head down. Bend your knees. Roll your head down. Slowly.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Give your hands a shake. Shake your hips a little bit. And roll up. Really slowly. And up, and one more time down.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Shake your hands, shake your fingers. Shake your hips. Roll up. And shake your arms, shake your legs. Shake everything.
LIZZIE GOUGH:Brilliant. 'Locking keeps you fit, it's a whole lot of fun, 'and it's such a funky style.' Just try it. These guys did.
Video summary
Lizzie Gough, a judge on CBBC's Alesha’s Street Dance Stars, teaches a masterclass on locking.
Lizzie gives a brief history of locking, followed by an example of the style by two different groups.
The warm-up is taught in a follow-my-leader style with clear teaching points and counts throughout, working up to the beat.
Lizzie introduces locking steps including isolations.
There are four sections with each section containing two counts of eight.
The sections are broken down and repeated both with teaching points and counts; visual and oral direction are given throughout.
Section two will allow group members to work with partners and section four will allow dancers to travel off the spot.
Lizzie and 5XS then perform all four sections together to music, with the piece performed twice to show how the travel section could be used.
This clip is from the BBC series, Street Dance Masterclass.
Teacher Notes
Students could follow Lizzie’s lead and learn this street dance locking sequence.
After each section, pause the video to ensure students have understood, and allow for extra practise time. Students who are showing strong dance skills could help others.
Alternatively, sections could be split and watched over several weeks to build up the dance sequence.
The warm-up and cool-down sections should be completed every week.
Once all sections have been covered, students could rehearse all three sections together. They could then work in groups to develop their sequence ready for performance.
Choosing their own music, they could add any extra moves, experimenting with travel and partner work. Students can then perform to classmates and receive feedback.
Exploring the art of street dance, this series will be relevant for teaching physical education and dance at primary level.
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Watch a street dance performance by Wiked, focusing on grooves.
Incorporating locking into a street dance. video
Watch a street dance performance that focuses on locking by Lil Diamondz.
Incorporating breaking into street dance. video
Watch a street dance performance that focuses on breaking, performed by The Minions.
Incorporating house into street dance. video
Watch a street dance performance that focuses on house, by Beat Breakers.
The 'floor slide to resurrection' moves used in house dance. video
Turbo provides a breakdown of the 'floor slide to resurrection' moves used in house dance.
The 'happy feet' technique in house dance. video
Turbo offers a breakdown of the technique called 'happy feet', used in house dance.
The 'KB bounce' in street dance. video
Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy provides a breakdown of the 'KB bounce' used in street dance.
The 'KB hop' in street dance. video
Kenrick ‘H20’ Sandy offers a breakdown of the 'KB hop' used in street dance.
The 'leo walk' from street dance. video
Lizzie from CBBC's Alesha's Street Dance Stars teaches a breakdown of the 'leo walk' used in locking for street dance.
The 'pause groove' in street dance. video
Kenrick 'H20' Sandy teaches a breakdown of a 'pause groove' as used in street dance.
The 'point and lock' in street dance. video
Lizzie from CBBC's Alesha’s Street Dance Stars provides a breakdown of a 'point and lock' as used in street dance.
The 'stomp to retreat spin' in house dance. video
Turbo teaches a breakdown of the 'stomp to retreat spin' used in house dance.
The 'stop and go' move from street dance. video
Lizzie provides a breakdown of the 'stop and go' move used in locking for street dance.
Turbo's street dance masterclass on house dance. video
Turbo, a judge on CBBC's Alesha’s Street Dance Stars, teaches a dance masterclass on house.
Ballet and street dance fusion. video
Watch a performance that fuses ballet and street dance.
Supple's street dance masterclass on bhangra and street fusion. video
International choreographer Supple teaches a bhangra and street fusion style with the help of Mischief dance crew from CBBC's Alesha’s Street Dance Stars.
Claire's street dance masterclass on ballet and street fusion. video
Professional dancer Claire Craze teaches a street and ballet fusion session with the help of Super Six dance crew from CBBC's Alesha’s Street Dance Stars.
