What Is Good Locking Technique? - a discussion with Chunky

Unlike dance forms such as ballet, Locking does not come with a detailed syllabus or standardized positions. So what exactly defines good technique in a dance style that thrives on individuality, rhythm, and character? “Great question,” said Chunky. “I will say exactly like how James Brown said: Does it sound good? Does it feel good?” Feeling the music At the core of good Locking technique is a dancer’s genuine connection to the music. According to Chunky, good Locking is not about rigidly replicating steps; it is about feeling the music and expressing that feeling through a solid foundation. “Locking, the Campbellock, is very honest. If you have a dancer dance his thing and it really gels with the music… Your gut knows it well. Your heart knows it.” Chunky distinguishes between dancing from memory and dancing from musicality. A dancer might memorize beats, but true skill is shown when they can respond to unfamiliar music in real time — intuitively “swimming” in the sound. “Not following sound changes — that’s memory work. But somebody who is following the feeling of the music… That is authentic musicality.” He cites dancer Natasha Boon as an example: someone who can improvise to a track she’s never heard before and still “use the technique to accentuate the drums, the beat… the character.” Technique as Communication For Chunky, good technique is like good communication — clear, intentional, and expressive. “If I speak to you drunk, right, and I’m talking about incoherent stuff, but I can tell you about what my mind is thinking about. I’m seeing space and aliens in my head… and if I can still bring you along on the trip with me, that’s still good communication.” Locking works the same way: if the dancer is expressive and connected, the audience can follow the story — even if the delivery is unconventional. But when a dancer lacks articulation, even strong ideas fall flat. “Using the foundations to communicate — number one, the music. That’s step one. Like if I’m a deaf person, if I were to see you move, I can imagine what the music sounds like.” Once that connection is established, storytelling becomes the next level. Whether it’s a concept piece, a character-driven performance, or a play on movement themes, storytelling is what elevates dance from competent to compelling. “When you’re able to establish that foundation already, then you tell a story. That is a very, very good dance.” Clarity and Intent Despite Locking’s emphasis on individuality, there are still fundamentals that must be respected — especially clarity. “If it’s a lock, it’s a lock. It has to be crisp. It has to be an exclamation, not a comma.” Technique, then, is execution with clarity of intent. Chunky emphasizes that every movement should be made with purpose. “It’s not good enough to be on beat. You gotta be in beat. That means you really wait for the music to fill in the one 8, the one count before you move on. That’s very clear pronunciation, versus mumbling.” The Paradox of Precision But here’s where it gets tricky. Ironically, being too clean and precise can backfire. “If you focus too much on that, and everything is too clean, now everything is so on beat, so inside — then it also becomes very boring.” The Locking vocabulary may be limited in number of moves, but the challenge lies in the depth — adding character, musical play, and unpredictability without losing structure. “You gotta put something else, and that is the character part, that’s the music part… when you’re all over the place and you’re messing with the audience. That is the true essence of our dance.” The Structure Behind the Style To explain this balance of structure and freedom, Chunky returns to the analogy of language — this time, comparing Locking to English: “If foreigners come to Singapore and hear us speak English, they can still find it coherent because we use the same foundations. But when we start going full on Singlish void deck style… that’s where there’s distortion.” The lesson? Relatability matters. No matter how creative a dancer gets, the foundational structure — the essence of Locking — must still be present. “It must still be relatable. Some unspoken rules still need to be there.” Conclusion: A Dance of Balance So, what is good Locking technique? It’s more than being “on beat” or executing clean Locks. It’s about communicating clearly through movement, staying connected to the music and emotion, and doing so with character, depth, and structure. Like speaking a language, the delivery might change from dancer to dancer — but the musicality and intent must always shine through.