I love the hustle dance but can never progress to that real polished look since I cannot master multiple and traveling spins. Any recomendations and suggestions would really be appreciated. thanks all

Dont know anything about the Hustle. To' spin correctly requres technic, and is best learnt from a professional. Alignment is very important here, To spin Solo , as in a Rumba, it actually travels sideways On the spin its self be on the spot. In other words move in , spin move out. Be vertical and not traveling on the spin itself. On this site I think you can still get several pages of instruction which for you would be a good start. I was taught that to understand the mechanics of a Three Step Spin, do it this way. Slowly at first. Face a wall.Step to the side with your left foot. Bring the whole of your right side and foot to your left 1/2 a turn as a solid unit . Complete another half turn and step to the side. In practice you can stop on the first 1/2 turn , and stay on the spot. before completing the spin. Dont let your body overtake your head, look for . " Head Spotting ", very important. Even if this is not for the Hustle it doesn't do any harm to learn. Your will use it one day.

Some tips for spinning:

1. Stay relaxed. If you tense up it's hard to spin.

2. Stay as verticle as possible. The smaller you make yourself, the easier it is to stay around your center of gravity...don't look down, bend over, etc.

3. Squeeze your thighs together and keep your feet close together.

4. When spinning right, think about "closing" your left side to your right. Visualize folding yourself in half lengthwise, if that makes any sense! Like your left side is always chasing your right (like a dog chasing its tail but never catching it). Vice versa when turning left.

5. Spot on your partner's face to reduce dizzyness.

6. Practice a lot!!

I hope that helps. :)

Wow!!! Those are good tips!!! Are you an instructor?

I am, yes.

I don't have a problem with turns, but I have trouble stopping from time to time. Do you have any tip on how to stop with a good balance?

Stopping depends somewhat on what kind of spin you're doing and how you're stopping, but:

1. Think about sending your energy down into the floor to help you slow down and stop. You can use your toes to help this.

2. Since pulling everything in helps you spin faster, the reverse will help you slow down. It's easier to stop with your feet apart rather than together...ie, standing on one foot with the other pointed out to the side.

3. Make sure you're spotting as much as possible...if you're dizzy, it's hard to stop.

4. When you stop, stretch...ie, in rumba: spin, stop on your left foot with your right food pointed. Stretch your left hip back and your right ribcage forward slightly...this will help you to stay balanced and to stop.

5. In something like a spot turn or walk around turn (ie, open break underarm turn where you step across on your left, pivot, replace on your right and end up back where you started), squeezing your thighs will help you to turn quickly and stop quickly.

This is helpful. I have had some difficulty with balance on a 3 step turn (Samba)where there is an extra 1/2 turn to face the man. Somehow I must stop useing the straight leg as a brake as it is upsetting my balance on the bent leg. I am closing my feet in the first part of the turn well without losing balance however the last part is where I lose it. Sooooo great question and helpful answer.

The single factoid that will help you is to remember that you cant spin and travel at the same time. You either spin or travel but not both. Concentrate on the building blocks of a spin first.Head,Torso,Buttocks,Legs. Owen

while practicing the above, for half left turns, do +1 then turn, finish by stepping back on your left foot, balancing on 3 (I'm assuming you are a follower). For half right turns, do +1, walk forward on 2, then turn and step back, balancing on 3.

practice with sharp and with gradual turning.