How many turns can you do on one foot?

[DanceMentor]

(I'm not counting Forte)

A long time ago I was at a bar called Swingers (as in dance). I had been practicing my Pirouettes. I had also had about 3 drinks. I did the most Pirouettes I have ever done. I even had my foot in passe'. I did 6, yes 6 Pirouettes and stopped on a dime. At first, I couldn't believe it. Fortunately, a couple of people had been watching, and I asked them, "Did I just turn 6 times?", and they were like "Yea, that was totally cool!", and I'm like, "Are you sure?", and their like "Dude, that was awesome!".

Since then, I have never been able to break the 3 barrier. I've tried lots of things...
spinning from up to down
spinning from down to up
in passe as in jazz
in passe as in ballet
not in passe at all
starting with the arms out and then bringing them in
focusing on spotting

I think I finally figured out my weak point: My ankle is too weak. I am unable to balance more than a few seconds without getting a little shaky, so I am going to start doing some exercises to improve my ankle strength.

What sort of "breakthroughs" have you had in this department? Any advice you might offer?

[tasche]

You overthinking it. Creative imagery helps alot. When you were at the bar you were relaxed and weren't aiming for a particular goal.

Strong ankles help but not tensing before going into a turn helps alot more

:D

[Sabor]

hmm.. i think most i ever done is around 8 spins.. i hit 6 with no trouble given a good floor but i rarely do it because its not quite needed in social dancing.. regularly though i do no more than 3 or 4 when dancing salsa LA style..

my advice would be definitely to strengthen the ankle and keep working on fixing your center and balance.. plus alot of the success of spinning has to do with how u start off and the technique u use to give u the most momentum without loosing balance.. the rest is inertia more or less..

i dont know what the best technique is .. i just know that when i spin i put my whole body into the swing.. legs and arms kick round.. head and hip follows to control the power of the swing and balance it .. its quite hard to explain because i am not an instructor and i kinda did it on my own according to my balance, comfort level and dance style..

goodluck anyway and i'm sure with continued trials everything comes thru if u keep at it :)

[luv2dnc]

i think the most turns i have ever done was 7 or 8..one of my performances i ended up doing 6 without realizing it(first time i ever broke the 3 turn limit)..and luckly i was right in front so everyone got to see it :D deff. strengthen the the ankel, it will help a lot with your turning and your dancing in general. you will eventually find your technique to turning, and you will be turning like theres no tomorrow! good luck with it, and i hope you find your strength. it always feels good when you have accomplished something! :D

[Sagitta]

Welcome to df luv2dnc!! What's your poison?

[ShyDancer]

Without a lead....One :oops: :oops: ...and even then I over rotate, lose my balance and end up dancing my chasse sideways :lol: :lol:

With a lead (above my head) Ive managed 5, and that left me quite dizzy!

[LauraB]

I used to be able to do a clean quad pirouette to the right, and a clean triple to the left, in jazz passe and turned out. I could always do more in coupe, but I don't think I ever really counted those. Now that I don't practice them or take ballet anymore, I can only do doubles, or a messy triple to the right. These are all outside pirouettes, I was never as good at the inside turns.

[spatten]

I don't know if this will work for anyone else, but I found a significant increase in my ability to spin after spending some time learning to roller blade well. I think cross training my ankles, brought the strength and balance to a new level.

I also noticed that controlling my momentum out of the spin was just as important as going into the spin.

[luv2dnc]

thanks for the welcome!
my passion is with ballet! i love to dance jazz and modern too, but most of my love is with ballet..ive been doing ballet for 12 years and i still love it every class i take! now that you got me started on talking about turns ive been trying to see how many i can do now :D but i still cant seem to get passed to 5 turn mark..i hope everything is working out for you!

[cocodrilo]

I think I did 5 yesterday! I practice in front of a mirror to get a focal point but it's hard to count when I get going that fast! I dance mostly salsa, and NEVER attempt this in my heels. It's when I switch to my jazz flats that I tend to get wild! SO MUCH FUN!!!! :D
One question for all you multi-spinners- how are you able to stop at a certain point? I can control it with up to 3 spins, but after that I tend to over-turn and end up facing somewhere else. I want to incorporate these spins in my shines, so it would be nice if I end up facing my partner when I complete the spins!!! :?

[luv2dnc]

i had that same problem for the longest time...and my dance teacher kept telling me that if i kept my spot i would be able to land exsactly where i wanted to...however that never really worked for me..so i tried something new..i dont know if it will work for you, but as your turning and you hit your second or third turn pull up as much as you can. from your ankel to your head which should be able to let you control your turn more and it will hopfully help you slow your turn enough to be able to control where you stop.you will still need to keep a spot, but this will help you keep it better without getting too dizzy.you dont want to slow it down too much casue it would look funny :? but just enough to see where you need to position yourself and you should be all set :D i hope this works for you!

[cocodrilo]

What do you mean by "pull up"? Pull the leg up?arms? I don't have a problem with getting dizzy, just trying to concentrate on that focal point. The studio where I practice is well-lit and I can do 3 spins and finish facing the mirror, but I try more than that and I end up elsewhere! At the dance parties, where it is dark(we create a "disco-like" atmosphere for our latin dance parties- it keeps the beginners on the floor!) I have a hard time focusing as there is no "bright focal point" like in the studio. I try to focus on a friend/partner but the 3 spins isn't working for me yet in dark places. I would appreciate your comments on focusing and how to do more spins! Cheers :D

[Jack]

I can turn 1 time thats it and look decent doing it. I do not practice trying more than that but I imagine it would be a cool thing for a guy to do

[cocodrilo]

It's REALLY cool! :D

[squirrel]

multiple spins I can do about 10-15 (depends on how good the leader is and how tired I am).
on 123 (or 567) I can do 2 and a half alone and three if lead...
and I dance only salsa (and merengue, bachata...) - know nothing from ballroom dancing or ballet...

[cocodrilo]

I have no IDEA how many I can do if being spinned- usually after 10 or so my partner gets sore from my hair lashing him in the face! :lol:

[MagicFeet]

So this brings me to a question for all of you that are masters at spinning.

Is there a guide \ book \ video that would teach the proper technique for a man's spin?

Do you spin on your heels? Ball of your foot? What's the prep footwork to get in to them?

I have seen a few guys doing nice spins, but none have given any other explanations that .. "You just spin?"

Any advice to get me practicing would be greatly appreciated !!!

Thanks
MagicFeet

[pygmalion]

Good luck with the spins, Magic Feet. I'm still working on them myself. I believe that spinning technique for men and women is the same.

Has anyone tried Edie the Salsa Freak's videos? I believe she has a spin technique video, doesn't she?

[squirrel]

yes she does... I bought them and they're good...

[MadamSamba]

DM, perhaps you should try 4 drinks? :lol:

Seriously, I don't know what my count is, but it wouldn't be much...haven't quite mastered ye olde spotting technique!

[MacMoto]

Has anyone tried Edie the Salsa Freak's videos? I believe she has a spin technique video, doesn't she?

Yes and yes. See http://www.dance-forums.com/viewtopic.php?p=46021#46021 (from "Best salsa videos" thread)

[salsachinita]

:oops: Am I the only person left on this dance planet that is petrified of spinning :shock: ?

Belive me, I still do moves to try and get out of being put into multiple spins :oops: ....!

'Spotting' has been taught to me, repeatedly by various people, but I still havn't quite got the rest of my body to follow the brain yet :x ......

Just curious, do you think one can live a happy, fulfilled salsa life without EVER learnt to spin beautifully :roll: .........? Or is it a stigma I am going to learn to live with for the rest of my salsa life :cry: ....?

[squirrel]

I LOVE SPINS! Still, I don't manage to spin perfectly... I am continuously trying to improve my spinning abilities... :) It's hard though :(

[salsachinita]

I LOVE SPINS!

:roll: Need I say more? :roll:

[MacMoto]

:oops: Am I the only person left on this dance planet that is petrified of spinning :shock: ?
Me too, me too!
Hence Edie's spins video -- as I got better at following in general, my spins (or lack thereof) became the primary source of embarrassment for me. I am so bad (my teacher thinks it's hilarious -- I don't :evil:) I had to do something. :oops:

Belive me, I still do moves to try and get out of being put into multiple spins :oops: ....!
Please, please teach me those moves! :lol:

Just curious, do you think one can live a happy, fulfilled salsa life without EVER learnt to spin beautifully :roll: .........? Or is it a stigma I am going to learn to live with for the rest of my salsa life :cry: ....?
I really hope the latter is not the case but fear it might, which is why I practise spinning every time I go to ladies at work... :oops:

[borikensalsero]

:oops: Am I the only person left on this dance planet that is petrified of spinning :shock: ?

Belive me, I still do moves to try and get out of being put into multiple spins :oops: ....!

'Spotting' has been taught to me, repeatedly by various people, but I still havn't quite got the rest of my body to follow the brain yet :x ......

Just curious, do you think one can live a happy, fulfilled salsa life without EVER learnt to spin beautifully :roll: .........? Or is it a stigma I am going to learn to live with for the rest of my salsa life :cry: ....?


It figures I'd be the one say INDEED. There is this lady who I dance with almost every thursday. She is a heck of a dancer, yet when she dances with the spin crazy guys you can tell she isn't happy. But when I dance with her, and I do at most 1 spin with her. She is all smiles, she goes nuts, she screams, she gets a mad case of the flirtiness and we have a good ol' great time. So much so that she finally gave in a said she loves to dance with me and that I must go every where she goes to dance. I was LMAO, for I just knee that even when she could spin 20 times, she didn't care to. Her vision of salsa was completely at a different place. The same as mine, and must say, yours salsachinita. :D

[borikensalsero]

Depending on the floor, I can do about 8 spins in one foot. But usually only care to do a max of 3, if at all feeling so. I don't do the ballet spins, does dancers seem to be able to spin all day on one foot. I do the momentum based, thing until I stop.

I like so spin on 1 foot, and on my heels. I only spin on the ball of my feet, when I'm holding my partner, as I feel that being on the ball of my feet gives me the best chance to recover, if something unwanted was to happen.

[borikensalsero]

my philosohpy on stopping on the dime, is know that you want to stop the spin before you stop. When I don't care to look smooth on the stop.

The abrupt breaks and dime stop needs to happen. I lower myself, bring one foot down during that last spin, place lots of weight on both feet, looking for friction, and when I'm just about to stop, I spread my feet apart, bring fight the momentum with my shoulders and hopefully I've stopped where I wanted.

I really have no science for it, nor technique, I just tried, and tried until I figure out what worked for me, which was mostly spreading the feet apart, and jumping into the shine right from there.

[salsachinita]

The same as mine, and must say, yours salsachinita. :D

:oops: :friend: Muchas gracias.....! :notworth: :notworth: :notworth:

[Vince A]

I'm with you DM . . . lucky to even get 3 clean spins.

I assume you are talking about spinning by yourself? I can spin 5 or 6 times if my lead has been taken (hijacked) and I'm being led into spins, but on my own . . . I've always struggled with this one.

I even have Edie's tapes, and we've put a lot of "those" excerpts regarding spinning in the DFs.

Regardless, I usually end up very unstable, wobbling, and sometimes nearly falling. Maybe I should try it with a few drinks in me????????

[danceguy]

Salsachinita - You are certainly not alone...I for one am not into doing lots of spins or even leading them...but it leaves many Salseras looking at me with a "spin me NOW muchaco!" look in their eyes. :P

I can easily do single spins...double spins I can do but avoid like the plague. I've had too many head/neck injuries so I just do what I can...and spinning is not my forte.

That being said...I have been working on leading double and triple spins...and I'm getting better at doing this and keeping on time. Last night I had several women try and keep spininng themselves...and I was like no way...just one smooth sexy spin (thank you, Boriken!) and one lady finally caught onto this. Another girl whispered to me "what do I do when you lead me slowly through a spin like that?" so I replied to her "its time to strut your stuff and show off!"...she didn't exactly get it as she was a beginner and more likely trying to keep pace with the advanced Salseras who are spinning machines. :roll:

So, I can do basic spins and can do one or maybe two on one foot...and I know I could do more with all the balance and leg strength I learned from MA...but I'd rather work on my timing and lead then being a whirling dervish. ;)

SG

[cocodrilo]

:oops: Am I the only person left on this dance planet that is petrified of spinning :shock: ?

Belive me, I still do moves to try and get out of being put into multiple spins :oops: ....!

'Spotting' has been taught to me, repeatedly by various people, but I still havn't quite got the rest of my body to follow the brain yet :x ......

Just curious, do you think one can live a happy, fulfilled salsa life without EVER learnt to spin beautifully :roll: .........? Or is it a stigma I am going to learn to live with for the rest of my salsa life :cry: ....?

Salsachinita, you CAN learn to spin! Exactly what is it you have trouble with, balance? Dizziness? Why don't you try one of Edie's spin videos? Maybe that can help you.

[salsachinita]

Why don't you try one of Edie's spin videos? Maybe that can help you.

That's definitely on my 'to-buy' list :oops: ......but for someone who doesn't own a credit card it can be tricky.

Maybe when Edie comes down to Syd Congress in Oct. I will meet her & get it then :wink: .

[squirrel]

Salsachinita, I have the tape. I had it converted to DVD. If you find a way, I'll send it to you :). Any ideas?