COSTUME ENVY: PRINCESS LOCKEROOO

PRINCESS LOCKEROOO

Beauty is power. In the world of dance, the way dancers look -- their costumes and makeup -- is often as important as the way they move. And Waacking is one of the most dramatic illustrations of that fact. And nobody does it more beautifully than Princess Lockeroo!

Waacking superstar Princess Lockerooo is a multi-faceted performance artist, whose talents in choreography, costume and makeup design are a fusion of Wow! Her approach to Waacking dance is nothing short of inspirational. She’s been an advocate of bringing Waacking back into the spotlight today.

Waacking is a form of dance created in the LGBT clubs of Los Angeles in the 1970s, as part of the disco scene. It took inspiration stylistically from Hollywood Golden Era movie stars such as Lauren Bacall & Marlene Dietrich. Glam costumes and makeup are key.

Waacking is a symbol of glamour, fierceness, elegance and drama. Princess Lockerooo adds the power of super heroes to her costume designs.

With a background and education in musical theater, Princess Lockerooo rocks the masquerade as well as she rocks the dance in her spectacular performances around the world. And she teaches her unique dance + prance approach to avid students in her awesome Waacking workshops.  

Princess Lockerooo has been infatuated with dance and dressing up since she was only known as Samara Cohen, a child, growing up in New York City. Her mom is an artist, who taught her, early on, to make art, including costumes. She started making costumes for school plays. It became an artistic meditation for her.

For her 14th birthday, her cousin gave her the gift of a trip to MAC Makeup. And that began her love affair with makeup, an important part of Princess Lockerooo’s dance personas. Today, it can take her up to 2 hours to apply makeup for her performances.

After graduating from LaGuardia High School with a degree in Vocal Music, Princess Lockerooo dreamt of being on Broadway. Her original plan was to brush up on her tap and jazz -- but she ended up in Hip Hop, Locking, Popping, House, and Waacking classes. She discovered the NYC underground dance scene and found her calling.

All dancers have unique dancer names, like Superman, the alter ego Clark Kent. No matter what Samara might be going through, Princess Lockerooo is always fierce, always fearless and in control. Her name, “Lockerooo,” comes from the dance style called Locking, a 70's funk style dance created by Don Campbell Lock Campbell. “Princess” adds the power.

“Waacking chose me!” Princess Lockerooo exclaims. “I fell in love with the music, the expression, and the drama.  I loved that I could be theatrical, portray characters and tell stories through my dancing."

The characters and the stories are an important reason why costumes and makeup are so important in Waacking. They are powerful. For Waacking performers, the medium is the perfect vehicle to inspire self-empowerment.  “It showed me my super powers and helped me love myself,” Princess Lockerooo tells us.

A student of the Legendary Soul Train Dancer Tyrone Proctor and and award winning choreographer Brian Footwork Green, Princess Lockerooo has been mentored by disco legend Jody Watley.

As she began performing professionally and competing in international dance battles, Princess Lockerooo grew just as fascinated with costuming as she did with dancing.  She is known for changing costumes in between battle rounds, now a trend in the global Waacking community.  

With only one minute or so to change costumes, it can be quite challenging. “The costume also became a battle tactic, Princess Lockerooo tells us.  “When I would march out on stage with a captivating look, the crowd would go wild before I even danced, the energy of the room encouraged me and I felt invincible.”

Dancing in heels and elaborate costumes is no mean feat. Wearing a costume and putting on makeup immediately affects the way a person walks, stands, speaks and performs. “I encourage it for all of my students,” Princess Lockerooo tells us.  

Waacking has given dancers the opportunity to explore their creativity in fashion and self expression.  Even in some stereotypically conservative countries, women will show up at Waacking competitions wearing sexy elegant dresses, gay men wearing heels, a wig, a dress, makeup or whatever they please.  

Drag queens are a major inspiration for Princess Lockerooo’s costumes and makeup. She cites Bob The Dragqueen (winner of RuPaul's Drag Race 2016), Vivacious, Darrell Thorn, House of Hallucination, Susanne Bartsch, House of Yes, and Pangina Heals as her idols.

“The best is when I am in full drag riding the NYC subway practicing my lip sync full out and the entire train car is staring at me,” Princess Lockerooo tells us.  “I look crazy and I don't care!  LOL.”

Sometimes Princess Lockerooo creates her own characters based on the music she is dancing to. Other times, she creates a new storyline based off of an existing character, putting her own costuming twist on it. She aims to be a vision that inspires women to be strong and powerful.

She does her own makeup and she makes a lot of her own costumes. Sometimes she combines pieces together to create a look, or add embellishments.  For the more complicated costumes, she has them made.  She often travels to Bangkok where drag queen culture is very prominent and buys costumes and materials there.   

While in Thailand, she often teams up with makeup extraordinaire Hilde Marie Johansen, and the students at her SMA Makeup Academy.

Within a given year, Princess Lockerooo creates between 50 - 100 masquerades.

Princess Lockeroo has performed at Carnegie Hall with Hugh Masekela, as well as  at Lincoln Center, Apollo Theater and other stellar venues around the world. She’s appeared on So You Think You Can Dance?, America’s Got Talent, TV Tokyo, as well as other hit TV programs in Thailand, Japan, Italy, and Russia.

If you are inspired to get your Waacking groove on, check out Princess Lockerooo’s Workshops at the Broadway Dance Center. And take photos of your beautiful costumes and makeup and share them with us here!

Read more about Beautiful Masquerades in The Most Beautiful Costume Game. And check out more beautiful things happening now in BN Mind/Body, Soul/Impact, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Arts/Design, and Place/Time, Daily Fix posts.

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1. Image: by Amber Ink. Princess Lockerooo posing backstage at Wise Fruit. Costume & Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
2. Image: by Hilde Marie Johansen. “Violet Seduction.” Princess Lockerooo. Makeup by Hilde Marie Johansen, founder of SMA (Scandinavian Makeup Academy). Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
3. Image: by Harold O’Neal. Princess Lockerooo, Waacking Judge, and a young fan at Step Ya Game Up 2017. Makeup & Costume by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
4. Image: by Cosci Cinema7 Production. Princess Lockerooo getting bejeweled by SMA artists on set of her “Situation” music video shoot at Maggie Choo’s. Makeup by SMA (Scandinavian Makeup Academy). Bangkok, Thailand. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
5. Image: by Hilde Marie Johansen. “Disco Diva.” Princess Lockerooo. Makeup by Hilde Marie Johansen, founder of SMA (Scandinavian Makeup Academy). Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
6. Image: by G Studio. “In Dance We Trust.” Princess Lockerooo poses as Lady Liberty. Costume & Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
7. Image: by Handreas Stefano. Princess Lockerooo & Indonesian Dancers at the top of Rock Garden. Costumes by Evoy Productions. Bandung, Indonesia. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
8. Image: by Kate Singh. “Warrior Goddess.” Costume, hair & makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
9. Image: by Ben Hsu. Princess Lockerooo & Choreographer Akuma Diva on set of “Situation” music video production. Costumes by Pangina Heals. Makeup by SMA (Scandinavian Makeup Academy). Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
10. Image: by G Studio. Princess Lockerooo as “Lady in Red.” Costume by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
11. Image: by Erich Caparas. “Princess Lockerooo Blue Fantasy.” Makeup by SMA Makeup Academy student Lisa Studdon. Courtesy of SMA Makeup Academy.
12. Image: by Amber Ink. Princess Lockerooo posing backstage at Wise Fruit. Costume and Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
13. Image: Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo. Princess Lockerooo as “Wicked Witch.” Costume by Pangina Heals.
14. Image: by Princess Lockerooo (selfie). Princess Lockerooo & Harold O’neal march along the House of Yes float in the NYC Pride Parade. Costumes and Makeup by Princess Lockerooo.
15. Image: by Kate Singh. “The Future of Fierce.” Princess Lockerooo. Costume, hair & makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
16. Image: by Handreas Stefano. Still from Sita’s Rant music video, featuring Princess Lockeroo. Costumes by Evoy Production. Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Bandung. Jawa Barat, Indonesia. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
17. Image: by Amber Ink. Princess Lockerooo posing backstage at Wise Fruit. Costume & Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
18. Image: by Hilde Marie Johansen. “Princess Lockerooo as Faux Queen VaganaSaurus Flex.”  Princess Lockerooo. Makeup by Hilde Marie Johansen, founder of SMA (Scandinavian Makeup Academy). Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
19. Image: by Citizen Chris. Princess Lockerooo as Carmen in her urban rendition of the legendary tale. Location: Funkbox NYC. Costume & Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
20. Image: Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo. Princess Lockerooo strikes a pose at Behind the Groove Exhibition Battle. Costume & makeup by Princess Lockerooo.
21. Image: by Amber Ink. Princess Lockerooo posing backstage at Wise Fruit. Costume & Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
22. Image: by Amber Ink. Princess Lockerooo posing backstage at Wise Fruit. Costume & Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.
23. Image: by BN App - Download now!
24. Image: by Amber Ink. Princess Lockerooo posing backstage at Wise Fruit. Costume & Makeup by Princess Lockerooo. Courtesy of Princess Lockerooo.