Do You Struggle With Spinning?

If so, you’re not alone.

Spinning takes time and effort to master…maybe more than any other skill in Cross Body Salsa.

And it’s one of the most obvious differences between recreational and professional dancers – the ability to perform multiples of multiple spins at any speed and make it look effortless.

Many teachers will tell you that you just need to practice more.

Whilst this is true to a point, it’s also vague.

And here’s why it doesn’t always work:

1. Until you know WHY you are struggling with spins, and fix THAT, you probably won’t see any significant improvement and things may even get worse as your brain starts to associate spinning with stress and panic.

2. Technique really matters – until you have your posture, balance and weight placement dialled in, adding the extra challenge of rotation into the mix is unlikely to work.

3. The quality of your practice is paramount – doing 3-5 quality spins with a high level of awareness and external feedback via video/mirror/teacher will always trump 20 aimless ones where you don’t really know what’s working and what’s not.

4. Your spin technique is ALWAYS limited by your body’s current physical status. Any weakness in the core, hips, feet and ankles will show up much when you start spinning.

Building Better Spins From the Ground Up

Like everything in Salsa, success starts at ground level – with the feet and the floor.

So that’s how we’ll be starting – ticking boxes on the pre-requisites that many teachers miss because they worry about students getting bored.

We’ll be covering the role that the feet and ankles, hips, core, torso, neck, shoulders and head all play in pulling off successful spins, and improving their function.

This is the work that all trained dancers do routinely – and is the missing link for many recreational Salsa dancers.

Ticking the Box on Technique

Salsa spins are different to those in Ballet and other dance styles.

This means that the postural cues, mechanics and preparations are also different.

But there are some concepts and techniques which do carry over, and for adults with no formal dance training, this can be game-changing knowledge.

Spins for Shines

There is a lot of freedom to add spins into solo work. As with everything Salsa, this requires confidence and creativity to be used to full effect.

There is more flexibility in the types of turns and spins we can use in solo work, so I’ll be showing you how to execute these with more style, ease and flow.

Spins for Partnerwork

Here we will be exploring spin technique for Salsa partnerwork – starting first with basic stand-alone spins in isolation, and then I’ll show you how these can be inserted seamlessly into static turn combinations.

Leaders will learn not only how to cue their partners correctly for spins but also how, where and when they can insert their own spins into combinations.

Followers will learn how to recognise the different leads and preps, how to immediately know the amount of rotations required, and how to retain balance and composure through multiple spin combinations.

I’ll also give you some fun spin combos which you can takeaway and use immediately.

By the End of the Workshop

• Spins which look, feel and work better
• Increase the amount of rotations you can comfortably complete
• Exponentially improved speed, balance and confidence
• You’ll know how to practice effectively and troubleshoot your own spins when things feel “off” or go wrong.
• Lots of “takeaway and use immediately” social dance combos.