Roboting(Locking)

AJ Vogt
Feb 5, 2016
2 min read

Locking and Roboting is another form of dance that emerged from Hip Hop culture. The "robot" might have been a fad, but even in 2016, it is a dance style that almost all ages know. Lets a trip through the history of Roboting, and have no fear there will be a video at the end that will definitely checked out.

Roboting's roots can be taken back to the mime, which were prominent in the 1920s and they imitated movements of robots and mannequins. Then in late 1960s and early 1970s, the creation of Roboting (Locking) is credited to Don Campbell, who in 1973 founded the dance group called "The Lockers" in Los Angeles. Originally, Locking was known as Cambellocking, but the name obviously needed some shortening, which led to just Locking.

The Locking (Roboting) scene was primarily just in Los Angeles. The leaders of this dance revolution created clubs where they could feature their dances. The reason that Locking is credited to Los Angeles and not other major cities is because it gained national recognition on the television program Soul Train.

Soul Train started in Chicago, but when famous host Don Cornelius wanted to go national, it was filmed in Los Angeles. Thus, there was now opportunities for local artists and dancers of LA to be featured.

This entire post I have been talking about Roboting and Locking, and interchanging them synonymously, but in reality, Roboting is actually a subform of Locking, which developed through Soul Train. The beginnings of Roboting is actually credited to Michael Jackson, who incorporated the Robot into a concert routine in 1973.

The culture involving the evolution of dance is so rich with information and how it connects artists across genres is quite interesting. I hope you enjoyed this post about Roboting and Locking. Below you will find a few videos of roboting and locking. The first is from a roboting competition in Las Vegas in 2014. The second is a locking routine from Korea. You will notice the subtle differences in the dances but also how much these dances have evolved since the 1970s. Enjoy!