Spot Turn

[kinxen]

I can't remember for the life of me how to start off the Spot Turn (as in what cue's the lady is supposed to receive and when)? Any advice?

[cederic]

Is that the one where you :
- start with your left hand holding her right hand
- (push her out and step back)
- lead her directly towards you (by pulling with your left hand) while stepping forward a little to meet her
- at the same time, lift your left hand to your left shoulder. (I find it useful to twist my shoulders just a teensy bit. This means the lady's hand goes those couple of extra inches, which in turn twists her slightly and helps her prepare for the turn)
- push towards the lady, leading her into a clockwise turn
- from there, it's all down to you. Return, travelling return, any other move you know..

If you want to spin her, rather than turn her, two changes:
- when you bring your left hand to your shoulder, change it to a flat palm-to-palm contact with her hand
- when you lead her into the spin, push your hand down towards her waist. (This helps prevent her going off balance, and helps prevent you slapping her in the face. By accident.)

I'd wait a bit for other answers though, as there are various teachers on here that will correct me, but that's fine, I need to learn too

[Andy McGregor]

I'd wait a bit for other answers though, as there are various teachers on here that will correct me, but that's fine, I need to learn too

As one of the dance teachers on here, my advice is to ask a dance teacher in the flesh. My guess is that the dance teacher's first response would be "what do you mean by a 'spot turn'?"

The spot turn is common in the Latin American dances. However, I've not really heard it mentioned at Modern Jive classes. Which is probably why there's not been any replies.

[cederic]

I've not really heard it mentioned at Modern Jive classes.

Probably not the right forum for this discussion, but the only reason I was able to describe the spot turn I've been taught is because... I was taught it.

I'll confess, I can't remember if it was at a Ceroc or independent venue.

(I've also been taught a WCS Tuck Turn, which is similar in its arm movements but very different otherwise)

[Andy McGregor]

Probably not the right forum for this discussion, but the only reason I was able to describe the spot turn I've been taught is because... I was taught it.

The turn you have described is not one I would call a "spot turn". I would probably call it a turn on the spot - but only to differentiate it from a travelling turn/return. I do not teach this turn on the spot regularly as it is rarely seen in freestyle.

I suggest you do a search on youtube to see what I'm calling a spot turn - not that I call it a spot turn in MJ

[cederic]

Last night at a Ceroc venue an intermediate move was taught: Spot turn with block.

I'll concede, it was different to the one I suggested: It was a spin (hence the block) and not a turn. But I guess it means go with Andy's advice: Ask your local teacher.

[kinxen]

Is that the one where you :
- start with your left hand holding her right hand
- (push her out and step back)
- lead her directly towards you (by pulling with your left hand) while stepping forward a little to meet her
- at the same time, lift your left hand to your left shoulder. (I find it useful to twist my shoulders just a teensy bit. This means the lady's hand goes those couple of extra inches, which in turn twists her slightly and helps her prepare for the turn)
- push towards the lady, leading her into a clockwise turn
- from there, it's all down to you. Return, travelling return, any other move you know..

If you want to spin her, rather than turn her, two changes:
- when you bring your left hand to your shoulder, change it to a flat palm-to-palm contact with her hand
- when you lead her into the spin, push your hand down towards her waist. (This helps prevent her going off balance, and helps prevent you slapping her in the face. By accident.)

I'd wait a bit for other answers though, as there are various teachers on here that will correct me, but that's fine, I need to learn too

Yea that sounds about right, I remember we had to do a palm-to-palm contact which was used to trigger the move. It was a Ceroc venue where I learned it.

[BillCo]

cederic, the Spot Turn is one of the beginner moves which was added when all the beginner moves were revamped.
Your description looks spot on and I also agree that a prep prior to the turn is a lot better than a block then turn.

The push spin was a beginner move but was dropped when the moves were revised.

Bill.

[jolontour]

Yeah, name changes & move updates can all add a bit of confusion. Like Bill said, the Push Spin was dropped ...I guess because it was often a pretty rough move. But the version you describe as a Spot Turn (I call it the Soft Push) is, as you say, pretty similar.

That said, teaching both the spin version and the turn version (where hand-contact is maintained whilst the lady turns) I find to be a great lead/follow exercise.

Wanna see what the latin dancers mean by Spot Turn - here's a lovely YouTube example from Rumba

You can develop something similar from the Side to Side ...if you know that one ;-)

Greets from Munich

Jol

[Franck]

Cederic and Bill nailed it, the Spot Turn is a recent Beginners move.

The main tip for me is to lead the turn from the upper body / shoulder, rather than pushing with the arm.
The twist of the shoulder is a very effective prep, ensuring the follower will expect the turn, and that the leader can smoothly body-lead the turn.

I find myself doing the Spot Turn very often in freestyle as a nice contrast to the dynamic moves that were introduced last year...

As for the Rumba / ChaCha Spot Turn, it's lovely too, and worth adding to your dancing repertoire, but tricky unless you have good connection and technique...