Recommendations for excellent spins

P

pygmalion

Well-Known Member
Back in the day when I used to dance salsa, just for fun, with my friend, D, I could do a ton of spins in a row, wherever he led me. My spotting was on, and I just did my spot turns with out even thinking about it. Now I haven't danced with D in a long time -- been doing mostly freestyle and/or low key other styles of dance, and my spins are decidedly rusty.

Any tips or pointers on how to get back in the spin saddle again? Instruction videos? Practice techniques? Anybody?
 
pygmalion said:
Back in the day when I used to dance salsa, just for fun, with my friend, D, I could do a ton of spins in a row, wherever he led me. My spotting was on, and I just did my spot turns with out even thinking about it. Now I haven't danced with D in a long time -- been doing mostly freestyle and/or low key other styles of dance, and my spins are decidedly rusty.

Any tips or pointers on how to get back in the spin saddle again? Instruction videos? Practice techniques? Anybody?
Click to expand...

Practice just everywhere you can. Bathrooms, elevators, air port... any place with a suitable floor.
Find a focal point, spot your eyes and do as much as you feel comfortable.

I have also heard about people practicing their balance when dancing by placing a book above their head and trying to dance/spin while keeping the book from falling off their head. I have not really tried that myself, but if you try let me know how it goes :-)
 
For instruction videos I highly recommend Magna's Spins DVD. Excellent mention of posture, spotting, and paddling technique. Also has some great warm up exercises to try out. FWIW, I have TONS of Salsa DVDs and this was one of the few that actually taught me something very practical. However, being a lead, I don't practice spinning much at all.
 
Yeah. One of my former teachers used to say the same thing. Practice spins and turns every day. And he had this hip-thingie, as well. Meaning. Don't think of spins as originating in your feet. Think of them as coming from your body. Leading into a spin with ones hips. It's pretty cool, actually.
 
pygmalion said:
Don't think of spins as originating in your feet. Think of them as coming from your body. Leading into a spin with ones hips. It's pretty cool, actually.
Click to expand...

I think I heard someone describe it like "closing yourself like a book" in this forum or another forum. Works for me to think about it that way. I also liked Edie's punching technique.
 
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