Spinning Tips & Secrets for Salsa Dancers Part 1

One of the main characteristics of modern Salsa dancing is the ability of the dancers - especially the women – to execute fast turns and spins. The advanced Salseros and Salseras make it look very easy, but Beginners and Intermediate level students know how difficult it can be to master Salsa spin techniques.

There are as much tips for turning and spinning as there are Salsa instructors. Renowned international Salsa Dance instructors such as Magna Gopal, Seaon “The Stylist” Bristol, Edie “the Salsa Freak” and Leon Rose all teach excellent spinning techniques. This article explores some general guidelines you need to know before you can execute multiple spins like the professionals.

General Body Conditions

The first thing you need to understand is that spinning and turning around is not natural for humans. You have to take extraordinary measures to condition your body for spinning. You want to have very strong muscles, because your body mass and your height DOES matter! The amount of muscle power needed to spin grows exponentially with the length and weight of the dancer. A petite Salsera like Emily Alabi needs less power to execute multiple fast spins in comparison to Super Mario, who is a tall and large international male Salsa instructor. Go to the gym and strengthen ALL your muscles.

You also need to have excellent balance and a perfect equilibrium. Start with practicing your balance by standing on the ball of one foot with the knee bent and try to keep your balance as long as possible. Use your arms just like a circus trapeze artist does: extend them to the side and bring your hands gradually in front of you belly button. Stick your other foot against the leg you are standing on and turn your knees and feet out in a 45 degrees angle. Now, try to go down and up. Use your arms to maintain your balance. If you do it right, you will feel your all of your body muscles aching, especially those of the  foot on which you are standing. Do the same exercise standing on the other foot.

Start Slow and Small & Building on Success

One common mistake many Beginner level “Salsa Turners and Spinners” make is to try and spin as much and as fast as possible. Mastering turning and spinning happens the other way around. One of the most important aspects of spinning is to stop your spins as if you had not spun. You do not want to force yourself to stop your spins, but you want to end naturally. Start by making slow spins, and do not make whole turns. This means that the best way to start is by making quarter spins – 90 degree turns – and each time in 4 beats. You will punish yourself for trying to spin fast and failing all the time. Instead, you will want to build on success: compliment yourself for executing correct partial spins. You can use this solid base to give you the confidence needed to go one step further: half spins.   

You have probably already heard about spotting, using your upper body (shoulders & arms) to generate turning and spinning power instead of using your free foot to push yourself off, and you probably know that it is better to drag the big toe of your free foot on the ground and as close to your spinning foot as possible. If not, then I would advice you to attend Salsa spinning workshops or buy  Salsa spinning instructional DVD's. You can also wait for the second part of this article.

This is a video clip iMambo.tv made of the “Spin Olympics” at the Washington DC Salsa Congress in 2008. Listen carefully  to Leon Rose's general rules, and watch carefully at the execution of the spins. The competitors use their arms to break the momentum at the end of their spins.