Spotting?

[shimmerynight22]

Hey- My teacher has told me that my spot needs help, if I want to get my triples consistently. I understand what to do, but I don't understand the timing of the spot with the coordination of my arms/legs. I was just reading a post about somebody's eyes being involved, and I didn't really understand that. Could somebody help? Sorry if this is incomprehendible, I can try to exaplin it again if it is.....

---s

[Victoria Leigh]

Well, although spotting is really a head action, it can help to focus the eyes on something in order to learn how to do it, or to practice doing it. Set your eyes on your spot and try to just keep looking at it, like getting your head around so fast that you see the spot 3 more times after seeing it the first time!

[les_sylphides_]

Well it doesn't have to do so much with the timing of the arms and the legs. When you're spinning, focus on one spot and as soon as you can't any longer, whip your head around and find your focus spot again. Typically this will be about 3/4 of the way to the back, so you're not completely facing the opposite direction that you started turning from. Try not to roll you head though because this will throw you off balance, keep it straight up and keep your neck loose. if you neck is tight then you won't be able to spot quickly enough. remember that you only move your head in one direction; i used to have a porblem of forgetting which way to move my head in a turn --but i got over it. count the number of times you spot so that you will know how many turns your are doing. and also dont forget that your neck and head move as once piece, separate from your arms and body which move as a 2nd piece.

[Victoria Leigh]

Hello les sylphides, welcome to Ballet Talk for Dancers!

 

While the information in your post is not wrong, I do have to remind you that young dancers do not give advice on this board. The question was about making a triple pirouette, and I think that was answered in the post above yours Please take some time to read various forums and topics, especially the "Stickies", in order to learn how we work here. Anecdotal information about what works for you is fine, after a moderator has answered the question, but you need to phrase it that way and not in the way of actual advice or "how to" do something. That is for the teachers to do!

[elizzy]

This question isn't directly related to the original post, but I do have a question about spotting that I've been wondering about for a while.

 

I have slight nearsightedness, though it's nothing too serious (I don't even wear glasses all of the time, just if I can't see the board in school or if the TV is all blurry ). However, sometimes I feel like it's a problem in class because I can't see my face clearly if I'm too far back; it just looks like a blur. Since I usually try to spot my eyes in the mirror if I'm turning en face, it can be a problem that I can't see my eyes and often throws off my turns. Do you think that the problem is worth getting contact lenses specifically for class? I talked briefly to my mom about it and she wasn't too keen on it, but I'd like to get another opinion and see if I should bother convincing her or if it's not a big deal. So any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

~Lizzy

[Mel Johnson]

Don't spot your face. Select something slightly above eye level and spot that. It helps you to keep your chin up. It doesn't matter what it is, just so long as you look at the same blur on every spot. I have astigmatism and nearsightedness now, but I can still spot.

[elizzy]

Thanks, Mr. Johnson!