Hey I'm a dancer and I've heard (and seen) that there is a secret to how skaters turn so fast and so many in a row. I'm trying to improve my turns for dance atm and I was wondering if you could let me in on how you guys do it. Thanks so much

im a skater and also a dancer. its all balance and NO SPOTTING!!!!!! because of skating my spotting is horrible but i can turn well. lol.

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~Dreams Can Come True~

Yeah dance turns and skating turns have nothing, ZERO in common. In skating your turning foot is turned IN, in dance it's turned out. In skating you cross the free leg over the spinning leg and you do so with the free leg turning in and folding OVER the other leg, in dance you usually spin from passe, attitude, or other turned out positions. In skating you don't spot, in dance it's crucial.

In order to spin better as a dancer you need to master incredibly fast and accurate spotting, and really understand the effects of friction from the floor to your feet/slippers. There is nothing that skaters could teach you about spinning for dance. The two have zero in common.

Oh ok lol sorry for my ignorance...I just can't get past a double and thought there might be something to skater's turns that makes them go super fast. Anyway thanks for your time

Practise!!!!!!

Do you have a coach? They would be the best people to teach you how to do multiples

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-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

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"Did I mention there is only ONE rink in Melbourne?!"
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Are you wanting the fast turns for dance or ice dance? Are you talking about spins or twizzles?

In dance (rather than ice dance) you need to spot and use the arm that comes in and the 'pull up' AND, importantly, don't lose your lines, don't try and cheat by advancing one part of your body and make sure that you're strong through your stomach and back (bit like skating except for the spotting).

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The best whisper is a click

It's fine don't worry about it!!! The thing that makes skaters go fast when they spin is the ice. That's why you have to learn to have a "relationship" with your dance floor and learn how the friction of it will get you to go fast- a little like ice, but it's much much harder on static ground.

Are you talking about double pirouettes, fouettes, or something else? Maybe if you post your problems I could help you out, I can do some triple pirouettes on my good side (and only doubles on my bad one ).

PS: She wouldn't have a coach for dance, usually. Dancers don't get coaches. It might not be a bad idea though, to consider a couple of private lessons with your favorite dance teacher to see if you can't crack what's keeping you from rotating. There is a good chance that you are a) not spotting fast enough and b) not keeping your knee turned out enough. If your knee is even SLIGHTLY turned in by the time you initiate the pirouette (I'm assuming you're talking about pirouettes..), then it'll slow you down and there's no way you'll get more than a double out of it.

Aahhh I get it now I think. Thanks for your help stardust. I've danced all my life but I've done different styles on and off. It is pirouettes that are my problem. I could always turn in jazz (without all the technique you need for ballet lol) but I've never quite mastered ballet pirouettes. I'm quite good at singles from fifth now (that sounds bad I know but it was hard for me) and I can do doubles starting in fourth position (all on demi pointe), but beyond that, I seem to have trouble "snatching" in the supporting leg and I don't seem to have 'enough' to get around further than a double. I'm also having trouble with the preparation work for fouettes - we start in fourth croisse, take the back leg to second, turning to the front and then snap it in to pirouette position (like the beginning of a fouette without the turn) if that makes any sense lol. It's very frustrating because I never seem to have been good at any kind of turning - I have never been able to spot well, and beyond the basics of turning I hit a plateau. If you could give me some tips it would really help cos I'm a little too shy in class to practice on my own. Thanks

Sorry I forgot - thanks to tashakat, figure skater and cassarilda too I really appreciate it

This is what helped me get multiple pirouettes -

Do a single pirouette from 4th or 5th, doesn't matter really....but before you land, stay up on releve for as long as you possibly can, then close 4th/5th. If its not an issue of body alignment (dropping shoulders for example) then it's probably an issue of strength - developing the control to stay up on releve for a single will allow you to easily progress to doubles, triples, etc. And of course, use good spotting technique and get that "whip" with the arm. For singles and doubles you really don't need "too" much as this will throw you off balance.

Thanks so much for your help. I'll try it all out asap, that sounds like a good idea actually to hold up on releve for a while. Thanks everyone, really you're great