DON CAMPBELL LOCK

By Beat 1
AL 40 October 1999

There are figures who have made Hip Hop history: DJs like Kool Herc, mc's like Rakim, writers like Phase 2, and dancers like Don Campbell Lock. This last name should hint that he is a locker, but not just any locker, but the creator of locking. What is locking?

To give you an idea of what this style is, I invite you to view the films “Breakin’ 1 and 2,” in which the two main characters, Ozone and Turbo, often perform those rotational movements of the arms and wrists that are part of the broad repertoire of this dance. It is my honor to give AL readers the opportunity to learn about a dancer who contributed not only to the development but also to the birth of our culture.

-Let's start with the standard questions: how did you approach dancing?

“It's a long story. Initially I wasn't even a dancer because I was an artist (painter, ed.). And I'm probably better as an artist than as a dancer.’

-I've never seen your paintings, but if they are as incredible as your dancing style, you would be the Picasso of locking.

“Not at all. I just do my best. You are too kind.”

-And you too modest. There are breakers who beat themselves up endlessly for doing a tenth of what you've accomplished.

“Their problem. Going back to my story, when I was in college, I always went to a café that was the meeting place after class.

There was a juke-box in the bar and at that time a dance was in fashion, the funky chicken, in simple terms a kind of danced imitation of a chicken. Near the jukebox there were often two guys doing this dance. They were the kind of easygoing guys who danced from morning to night and impressed the girls. Whereas me-I was too shy to approach a girl. As I sat next to them, we slowly became friends and I kind of took them as my idols. We always went around together, but when it came to dancing, I just stood still because I was not able. I wanted to try anyway and one of them, Sam, started teaching me privately.’

-But they didn't do locking?

“No, they were trying to teach me their style, but it wasn't easy at all. So I tried and tried and one day I missed an arm movement and a strange rotation of the wrist came out, as if to describe a curl in the air. This ‘spin’ literally drove Sam crazy.

He kept saying enthusiastically, ‘do that lock! Do that lock! (do that curl!) It's too good!’ (Hence my name Don Campbell Lock was derived). In short, I kept rotating my wrists while others were laughing, then start clapping my hands and jumping in place while continuing to make these rotating movements. It doesn't matter if it was wrong compared to the teaching I had been given, to me it was right, it was mine.’

(As he tells me this, Campbell gets emotional, his eyes light up, he gets up and starts dancing reenacting that moment. He is an incredible person and he conveys all his positivity to me).

-When did you show your new style in public?

“Not right away. I was convinced that if I entered a contest, I would be the first to be eliminated. The fact is that one day I accompanied my friends to a contest in the lower part of Los Angeles as a spectator. It was a beautiful two-story venue. Of course out of shyness I took refuge on the upper floor to watch it all from upstairs while others talked to chicks. At the contest there were 15 couples however one girl's partner had not shown up. So Sam told me to come down and dance with her, but you can imagine how I took it! Agitated, I told him, ‘No! I would ruin everything! I'd better not, believe me!’ They finally forced me.’

-And did you win?

“No! I came in fifth! But believe me: that was a great victory for me! My first race, fifth out of fifteen pairs. Yeah! After that experience my friends asked me to follow them during contests, and with practice I kept improving by putting in my locking as well. I realized that if I wanted something, I could do it, and that changed my life. You see, for me, you don't invent a dance, you become a dance. I was my dance, and my dance represented my abilities and my will to achieve whatever I really wanted.”

-In a way, the style you invented represents a rebellion against the rules of dance.

“Exactly! I took my cue from mistakes to work out new steps thus arriving at a change. This is definitely a form of ‘rebellion’ that comes from wanting to be self-taught. Therein lies the difference between street dancers and those who go to school. The former just follow instructions, while street dancers make their own rules.’

-What does it mean to know that you will be remembered as the inventor of a style that expanded worldwide?

“We all want to achieve something. For many people the most important goal is money. Hey, don't get me wrong, I would like to be rich too!

The fact of the matter is that for me to be remembered by so many people makes me so rich inside!”

-Don't you think you are lucky since a dance is rarely named after its creator?

“So many. Who invented breaking, who created funky chicken and so thousands of other styles? Nobody knows. I have been very fortunate in that sense and it is a great satisfaction. I thank God for that!”

-You talked about rebellion against rules and personal quest.

What if you were to give directions to a beginner or teach?

“I do not teach, however if you ask me I will show you. I can't tell an aspiring dancer that a movement is wrong if he doesn't do it the way I do. On the contrary, I am happy if he can unleash his creativity by customizing. This is also true in the look. To tell you, I also invented that style of dress with the two-tone long socks (see photo) and the bowler hat.

People used to tell me I was weird, but I wanted to interpret my dance even with the way I looked. So I want to tell the kids that no matter how you dress or dance, always try to be original.”

-What would you like to suggest to AL readers who want to learn to dance? “Don't have any rules! The important thing is rhythm. Dance comes from the soul. With this view, new dances and styles will always be created, otherwise we will always be performers.”

-But are those who experiment often criticized by the masses?

“I can tell you that when I introduced this style, people said I was strange. I was the weird one among the normal dancers. I used to make people laugh, but now they don't laugh anymore. I believe in my own small way that I am tangible proof that something can be born out of nothing and that the ‘weirdos’ of this world can become somebody. Don't let anyone limit you, you can get what you want!”

-I know you have children. Did you ever expect or demand that they carry on the discipline that you invented?

“I have three children. Only one of them became a locker. The other two made their own choice, I absolutely did not force or influence them.

After all, if I forced anyone to follow my path, I would contradict the free-living philosophy that led me to become a dancer.”

-A question that is never obvious: What does dancing mean to you? “For me, dancing is happiness, and when I dance I want to convey my sense of well-being to others as well. I believe it is a form of selflessness and love not only for oneself.”