Hi,

I'm totally new to dancing... and am taking lessons, but also see this site for motivation and good advice..

On this site, in the Spins ans Turns section, there are exercises given to get the basics of the spins correct ... In the first exercise 'Dance Lesson: Introduction to Spins & Turns: Exercise 1', wehn one turns in small increments, one has to turn on the heel or toe?

Thanks

A rotation of the weighted foot relative to the floor is usually taken with the weight on the ball of the foot - the wide area behind the toes. The heel might or might not be in contact with the floor, but if in contact it is unweighted so it can slide freely.

Explicit "Heel Turn" actions are a kind of travelling step where the point of turn progresses through the foot from the ball to the heel during the course of the turn, but that's not the type of turn being talked about here.

Thank you for the Reply.. just a couple more clarifications..

So in the exercise where it's mentioned to stand in the 'side leading' position, one has to stand on the ball of the foot?

and move in small increments using the leg muscles?

The weight should be held over the ball of the foot as you turn, however, you should not think of it as "standing on the ball of the foot", which implies that your heel is up. You can turn over a flat foot, provided there is no weight on the heel.

Imagine a piece of wood the length of your foot. If it were nailed to the floor on one end, it would be flat against the floor, but you could still pivot the wood around that end. However, as soon as you put a nail in the other end, you fix it to the floor so that it can't pivot.

When you stand normally, your weight is held somewhere in the middle of your foot. This applies pressure to both the ball and the heel, which is like having a nail in both ends of the wood. In order to pivot on your foot, you simply need to disengage the weight from one end of it or the other. But this can be done while keeping the foot flat, just like the piece of wood.

Regards,
Jonathan Atkinson
www.ballroomdancers.com