Another spotting question

[Guest Hilarie]

My teacher had me do double pirouettes for the first time tonight, and it actually went very well except from the neck up. I'm really unclear about how to spot the second revolution. Do you momentarily stop your head after the first revolution and then bring it around, like at the beginning of a pirouette, or should you just spot with your eyes and keep your head in line with your body?

 

I've been playing around with it here in my apartment (hooray for parquet floors) and neither way feels "right". If I stop my head it feels counterproductive to getting the pirouette around, but if I only spot with my eyes I get really dizzy.

 

I know I need a lot more practice, I just want to know how to do this so I don't get into the habit of doing it wrong.

[DreadPirateRoberts]

I have (among many others) exactly the same problem! If I try to

stop my head, my body follows. If I don't stop my head, all is lost.

When I watch others, it appears that they ARE stopping their heads

every 360 degrees. Any tricks that the pros would be willing to share

on getting this part of your body stopped, briefly? Or IS is stopped?

[Mel Johnson]

The head has to "snap" to the front at the conclusion of the first turn, and stay there as long as possible before it "snaps" again at the end of the second turn.

 

In order to practice for this, try taking little tiny baby steps in place turning one direction or the other, and keep the eyes and head front, straight and level for as long as possible. When it can't be held front any more, snap it around to the same place, AHEAD of your body's front getting there, and keep it there again for as long as you can, while the body continues to turn. Once you've got that down on both sides, increases the speed of the turning with little paddle turns (character coupés) in place. In many ways, it's like the head doesn't move from its frontal position at all, except for that snap.

[Victoria Leigh]

When you practice, just be sure that you are still actually turning the head very quickly, and not leaving it so long that it "rolls" as it goes around! While it is sort of like the head never leaves the front, it actually turns very quickly in order to get there ahead of the body

[Jaana Heino]

As word of en- or discouragement, depending on your take on it, my teacher claims that learning to spot a double turn given that you can spot single is about as difficult as learning to spot that single in the first place, so you shouldn't feel bad if it feels difficult. After the first two are down, she says, subsequent spots should come easier. (I wouldn't know. I'm still working on getting singles consistent and have only once been told to even try a double.)