yoko.cool / Waacking with Princess Lockeroo (3:21)
Waacking is a street dance originating in 1970’s LA disco scene. It is a little bit like Voguing (which was born in Harlem) in its highly stylized, highly sassy attitude, but has a much stronger emphasis on musicality and arm movement.
Princess Lockeroo is a student of one of the fathers of waacking, Tyrone Proctor. I’ve taken a class with her, and have personally witnessed her amazing ability to, as she calls it, “anticipate the beat.” Her astounding familiarity with disco-style music and her super-in-shape arms[1] make for crisp movement that could split the air in half.
I’ve been wanting to share a video of Princess Lockeroo for a while, but having seen her in person, I just haven’t found one that I think really does her talent justice.[2] This one comes pretty close. I would like to imagine that this is what I would look like if I had a soundtrack to getting ready for a night out.
Yoko
PS: If you’re in the NYC area and interested in waacking, Princess Lockeroo teaches a class four days a week at Broadway Dance Center. It is super, super fun. Be prepared for your arms to feel like noodles by the end of the class though.
- In class, I asked Lockeroo what part of her body hurts the most after dancing. She responded, “My traps. They’re like rocks.” Thumbs up.
- Lockeroo was also a contestant on SYTYCD S8. She didn’t make it past the audition round (and honestly I felt that the show did not really respect her or the dance), but she did get a brief segment and also a performance on air. Here it is (3:34).