I am a novice who just can't progress because I cannot conquer spin turns. I freeze at the lead of a spin and just get dizzy after the first one. Its like a dam phobia......... but then I was always the kid who didnt' like carnival rides because I'd get sick. Can this be overcome-- can I learn to spin????
I learn the dance steps easily but this one has me beat........ any help and advicve is welcomed.
Thanks.

Spin turns? From your description I am thinking that you don't mean the Standard step Natural Spin Turn?

Are you meaning to say "one footed spin" as one would do in latin?

I am assuming so. In that case...you must work from the floor up:

Be sure not to put your heel down on the standing foot while turning.

Do not lock your knees.

MOST IMPORTANT!!! Pull up in your center. This can also be thought of as sucking your belly button back towards your spine while lowering your shoulder blades. This simply gives you control and strength throughout your torso, which you must maintain through out your spin in order to stay on balance.

Do not use your arms to complete your spin.

Work on spotting. Poor spotting is the main cause of dizziness.

Finally, take it easy. Many ladies feel like a one footed spin takes a lot of effort, they try to "create" the spin with too much power, generally torquing their bodies and throwing them completely off balance. Try your spins with the idea that you will do them in slow motion. Speed up as your ability to control the spin improves.

You can work on holding your center by practicing spirals in rumba walks. Spirals have the same basic action of "pulling up" or holding one's center through out. If you can spiral on your own, then you can spin on your own.

Finally...have you tried your spins with another teacher or other dancers?? Some leads are notorious for tossing a lady into spin which is death to your balance and timing. No offense intended but all instructors are NOT created equal

If all else fails...go to a reputable ballet school and take a one hour private lesson with an instructor there. She/he will certainly be able to show you your difficulty as well as giving you specific exercises which may help to strengthen any weaknesses you have.

**Read the excellent "Dance Lesson" at the Learning Center on BallroomDancers.com regarding turning and spotting.

Best of luck to you, M

A couple more tips....

You can also work up to it, practice doing a half a turn until you feel pretty comfortable, and everything is aligned and centered like cdkc said, do a number of 3/4 turns, then a whole turn, then 1 1/2 turns.

Another thing is too keep your head level, a lot of novice dancers tend to look up or down at the floor. This will make it even worse. In Victorian times, for a cheap high while V. Waltzing, dancers would throw their head back and watch the ceiling.

But I think to get over your phobia, you need to learn to do 2 things. 1) Enjoy being dizzy. It means you are alive and dancing. Like embarrassment, you aren't going to die of it. 2) Learn how to recover faster, so that you feel like you are in control. There are couple of tricks that I have learned. This one I discovered myself, when dizzy, focus on something that you know isn't moving, eye-level and vertical. A door frame, a picture frame, a pillar. I found that this gave my mind a reference point, and allow it to put everything else around it in their places. The other trick I learned from a dance instructor, turn the other way once. This counteracts the movement of the liquid in the ear canal which is typically what makes you dizzy.

But otherwise realize that few of us are good spinners, I still remember the day I had the breakthrough and got complemented on by my instructor, after have been on that plateau for months of my turns not being good enough.

-TheDitz

this is a very interesting topic for me as, some years ago, i had an inner ear problem which caused me the sort of dizziness associated with spins and turns. I had to learn to overcome this in my everyday life, and perhaps i can pass on one or two tips to help with the dancing.
I found that taking a sea-sick tablet considerably minimised the effects of the dizziness - in a way neutralising it. It might be worth taking one about an hour before you start dancing. It could make you slightly drowsy of course.
Also, i used to practice viennese waltzing on my own round and round the room, doing repetitive naturals, or repetitive reverse turns for about 3 minutes, then after a minute's break, doing it again..and again... This 'forced' my brain to acclimatize and after some months of this, i found the effects of turns and spins to be negligible. It's also a brilliant zero-impact aerobic exercise!!

These things worked for me - they may not work for others. The ear problem is gone (i hope!!)but i can spin and turn as much as i like without any dizziness.