When I first learned the Viennese Waltz, I had to stop periodically because I was so dizzy and disoriented. However, as I became more comfortable with the dance, my disorientation became less frequent. I also found that keeping my back arched and my upper body muscles slightly tense eased the dizziness. Good Luck!

Leah. If it works all well and good. But be carefull with an arched back. in dancing that's the last thing you want. Stand against a door and get the small of the back onto the door.

Agree with Jonathan. When I first started to do Viennese Waltz I got dizzy to almost falling down. But after a while I become used to the motion. I still feel dizzy but it is under control. Conditioning and changing directions are the remedy.

Technique I use is to practice on a line on a gym floor.

While actually dancing you'll have trouble but as you practice by yourself try and progress down the floor with your feet constantly on the line. Think Travel in Straight Lines. Viennese looks like it's spinning but it is not.

Do not spin but take distinct steps changing weight every step. When you're going forward you're on the outside of the circle so you take bigger steps. When going back you take smaller steps BUT STEPS THEY MUST BE! (No Spinning them).

Develop the sense when stepping back that your partner is stepping around or past you under their own power (even though your energy initiates their movement) rather than you pulling them around. Too many leads try and pull their partners around which only increases spin.

Accent the "2 & 5" instead of the "1 & 4".

OB

When you are doing the turns, be sure to do a full side step. This will, to some degree minimize the spin.

http://americanballroomdanceacademy.com

V. Waltz and dizzyness. The smaller the room, the more likelhood of becoming dizzy.In our Dancing with the Stars after the first two series they soon dropped the V. Waltz. In a smaller place it was causing real sickness problems.
The arguement is that we still have a full turn over the six steps regardless of whether it is done right or wrong as far as alignements are concerned. The fact remains , if I had to I could squeeze 8 bars on one side of a very small room. I believe I would become dizzy. Spread the 8 bars out all the way around and I will not get dizzy. Who doesn't agree.

I doubt it. Here's an article I suggest you read to understand the physiological reasons behind the sensation of dizziness that comes from continuous spinning:

http://www.coolquiz.com/trivia/explain/docs/dizzy.asp

This explains the reason you feel like you're still spinning for a few moments after you've stopped. (For more exhaustive explanations, see more links below).

In my research I was unable to find any studies relating dizziness to the size of a room. My own personal research -- e.g. spinning 10 times in 5 seconds in my closet, then doing likewise outdoors -- suggested that there's absolutely no such relationship. Perhaps more people would like to try and see for themselves. In the meantime, I'll remain extremely skeptical.

But although there's not likely any relationship between true dizziness -- that sensation that you're still spinning even after you've stopped -- and room size, that doesn't mean that you can't get nauseous from your perception of your visual surroundings. Such nausea would be a result of motion sickness, which is caused by the difference between "visually perceived movement and the vestibular system's sense of movement". (quoting wikipedia). So if you're looking to draw room size into the equation, you must look for a link between room size and motion sickness, not room size and dizziness.

This is bigger than my puny little brain cares to explore in depth right now, but as far as motion sickness is concerned, my best educated guess is that it has much less to do with the size of the room as it does with the complexity of the surroundings in general. In other words, the more objects and contrast your have in your sight to give your eyes the sense of motion, the more likely you are to feel woozy after continuous spinning. So, for example, you would be much better off spinning in a small room with four white walls, a pale, uniform dance floor, and flat lighting than you would be in a large dance hall with balconies, chandeliers, elaborate lighting, a floor with a complex design, and audience and dancers all around. All things being equal, I don't see how having the walls closer to you necessarily translates to a perception of more movement, so perhaps someone would like to explain that to me. Even so, larger rooms tend to be more complex, so I think that would tend to negate any minor increase a smaller room would tend to contribute to the perception of movement, if there is one.

More interesting articles I have found relating to dizziness after spinning:

http://www.sciencebuddies.org/mentoring/project_ideas/HumBeh_p025.shtml

http://ask.yahoo.com/20061116.html

http://stason.org/TULARC/sports/recreational-figure-skating/6-2-9-1-about-dizziness.html

And my absolute favorite:
http://web.mit.edu/skatingclub/old-www-Sep05/newsletters/00jun.pdf

Also, here's the wikipedia article on motion sickness:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_sickness

Enjoy!

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson

Thanks everyone for their tips, suggestions, etc, especially Jonathan. :) I've been trying out some of these suggestions and a few help a little. I'll keep going.

And yes, I've only a small room to practice in; my bedroom. There are a ton of things (furniture) in the way (I share my room with my two sisters, so there are beds and cupboards and stuff). I can only do two turns each time down the center of the room

Think straight lines.

In 6 steps of a reverse or natural aim to travel 6 feet down the room as you practice.

If you're too compact then you are spinning on the spot. Spinning leads to dizziness.

I never have a problem with dizziness because I'm moving from point A to B rather than staying on point A.

A lot of ballroom is an illusion. It looks like it's turning but it's really a series of straight lines with swivels and pivots at the ends of steps.

OB

O.B. -- You're forgetting that no matter how much or little you travel, you're still turning one full turn over 6 beats. That was the whole point of my original post.

Actually, it's unclear whether traveling makes it better or worse. In the MIT study I mentioned earlier (see link above), they concluded that dizziness would diminish somewhat on a perfect, stationary axis. The more wobbly the axis, or the more the head moved away from the axis, the more it increased the dizziness. Certainly the scallopy movement of our head in a perfect, traveling Viennese Waltz, smooth as it may look to someone watching, is way more erratic to the motion of the liquid of the inner ear that a perfect spot rotation. And since the liquid is being spun around at exactly the same speed whether you travel or not, the logical conclusion is that the least dizzifying way to turn is exactly on the spot.

Of course, two partners cannot turn exactly on the spot at the same time in dance position. Only one partner's head can be the center axis of the turn at any given time. And since Viennese Waltz is supposed to travel, anyway, the point is moot... Neither partner will ever rotate in a single, stationary axis. The question is really whether the difference in the amount a beginner travels vs the amount an experienced dancer travels makes a difference to the amount of dizziness. I say no. Either way, the total amount of rotation is the same. And either way, the heads of both partners are moving around, not on, a traveling axis. To the inner ear, it's horribly erratic. It's enough to make you wanna puke just thinking about it.

Regards,
Jonathan