Double (treble / multiple) spins

**Franck** · 27th-January-2002, 12:09 AM

Hi,

From another thread, I was reminded that a lot of you find spinning (especially multiple spins) a great challenge...

So I though I would open a discussion so that everyone could share their best tricks for spinning or to air any questions you might have on the subject.

I will kick off the tips with how I discovered the joys of double spins.

I was at a Ceroc Marathon in London and for a bit of fun, I decided to wear my kilt... Needless to say, that proved to be a very popular idea (but I'll save that for another time...)

However, while dancing, I started noticing that instead of my usual single spin attempts, I started spinning more and better... In fact, the heavy material of the kilt was helping me pace the spin and kept me balanced.
It also helped me keep cool

for the 24 hour marathon !

Since then, I have kept practising and I am still working on spins, but wearing a kilt certainly gave me a great start...

For any women out there reading this, you might want to practise spinning wearing a skirt and see if it does make a difference !
I would like to point out I am not attempting to get all the women in skirts (

) at Ceroc nights... You can try it out at home, etc...

Let me know what you think, or post here any similar experiences of when you cracked the spinning "thing".

Cheers,

Franck.

**Stuart M** · 28th-January-2002, 10:25 AM

I tried to reply earlier - apologies if a similar post appears

The Style Workshop was a great help in learning how to Spin properly. I can now do the Comb followed by a Man's Spin move, and the reaction it gets is great (as far as I know the gal's are probably thinking "Who does that prat think he is?", but I'll just believe they're thinking "Wow!"). Thing is, it works better if you go real slow, like most things done in pairs

One thing which would be useful are tips for us blokes in how to make spins as easy as possible for the ladies, Franck. I don't remember it being covered in the workshop, but given the amount of spinning we put them through, we should help out any way we can, eh?

SM

**Franck** · 28th-January-2002, 01:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stuart M
I tried to reply earlier - apologies if a similar post appears
/SNIP/
One thing which would be useful are tips for us blokes in how to make spins as easy as possible for the ladies, Franck. I don't remember it being covered in the workshop, but given the amount of spinning we put them through, we should help out any way we can, eh?

Off the top of my head, there are quite a few things men can do to help the ladies spin better:

Do not throw them off balance with over-enthusiasm
Keep your hand at waist level (near centre of gravity)
Do not stand too close to your partner - leave them elbow room to spin
Watch them spin and keep an eye out for other fast approaching couples...
lead the spin within the beat / music so the ladies have time to get their balance before the spin

I am sure the ladies will have their own pet hates / and constructive criticism to add to this...
Of course all the above assumes that the ladies are not gripping on to your hand for dear life...

Cheers,

Franck.

**Will** · 9th-November-2004, 02:08 PM

I'd be interested to know what is the most spins that people have either done or seen done. Remember I mean spins not chenez.

I'll start. I've seen Stevie Wong do 3.

David Franklin · 9th-November-2004, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will

I'd be interested to know what is the most spins that people have either done or seen done. Remember I mean spins not chenez.

I'll start. I've seen Stevie Wong do 3.

I've done 3 1/2 cleanly (I'd usually do them from a man-spin; hence the 1/2), but those are a blue moon occurence - it takes a good day for me to get 2 1/2 turns on one foot.

Stuff I've seen? Don't know how picky you're being about spin v.s. chaine turn - but go here, pick the "young adult" clip and look at about 44 seconds in for quite a good spin(!).

This one (look about 2:05 in) isn't so many turns, but the 1st spin is pretty amazing, and to get 3 more in after that...

If you include fouette turns, then we get into silly numbers - lots of people can do over 30...

Dave

TheTramp · 11th-November-2004, 08:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Franklin

I've done 3 1/2 cleanly

I've been watching your avatar David....

So far, you're up to 29652976523 spins. And counting. And while holding a girl above your head....

Trampy

**drathzel** · 11th-November-2004, 09:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart M

the gal's are probably thinking "Who does that prat think he is?",

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stuart M

but I'll just believe they're thinking "Wow!").

Only joking sweetheart!

I find that wearing the correct shoes helps on a less sticky part of the dance floor! Also someone pointed out to me that if you dont try ie by pushing yourself really hard (making you loose your balance) you will get further round. That doesn't actually make sence but if you put it in the terms that when you are spinning by yourself and you push off you tend to push harder for a double, this then makes you loose your balance. So gradually build it up by little pushes, eventually a little push will make you go a long way!

My first double spin happened completely by accident! I was wearing brand new oxford taps (without the tap bit) and they were really slippy and i was dancing with a really good lead who pushed me off and i ended up spinning twice,

then i got really excited and mucked up the rest of the dance, but thats ok!

**Hevmac** · 11th-November-2004, 09:17 AM

wow what a superb site dave! (wouldn't it be great if we could have video clips of the winners at some of the british comps? or do we??)
awesome dancing. the guys especially. jason colacino was just so graceful!
forget spins, for me its the way the dance flows and the whole interpretation of the music that impresses.
mmmm but thats probably because i am sooo bad at spinning myself!

don't agree trampy!!

actually you do a pretty good spin!......or 3!
so does our very own sheena.

[/color]

**Chicklet** · 11th-November-2004, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Will

I'd be interested to know what is the most spins that people have either done or seen done. Remember I mean spins not chenez.
I'll start. I've seen Stevie Wong do 3.

the night before the London champs last year I was somewhere in London, I have no idea where, and saw Obi, Denise and Vicktor having a little spinathon at the back of the room.

I had been dancing a couple of months and was far too involved in staring open mouthed in awe to count, but there were many and they were of style and quality.

David Franklin · 11th-November-2004, 09:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Heather MacLean

wow what a superb site dave! (wouldn't it be great if we could have video clips of the winners at some of the british comps? or do we??)
awesome dancing. the guys especially. jason colacino was just so graceful!
forget spins, for me its the way the dance flows and the whole interpretation of the music that impresses.

For some better quality WCS clips, look here....

Oh, and if anyone wants to feel really inadequate: take a look at the clip with Jordan & Sarah. As I understand the story, Jordan's normal partner had broken her foot, while Sarah's normal partner had injured his back. They made a snap decision to enter together, and only spent a week together practicing...

Dave

**Divissima** · 16th-November-2004, 03:19 PM

Just waiting for the link to load...

The most spins I've ever done is five or six - but it doesn't happen very often. The most I can do on a normal night is three or four, but there aren't many partners who can lead me into multiple spins so that it all works well. My breakthrough came when I had a private lesson on spinning with Amir. I had just about given up the idea of managing a double spin before that lesson.

I find it works best when I try to pull up through the top of my head and pull in my stomach. It's important not to lift up the spare foot, but keep it close to the floor. There's also a trick with driving down the arms which gives the spins some extra wellie* (* technical term, from the latin) and speeds everything up. I tend to find with the extra wellie thing, that I get a bit scared with how fast I can go and wimp out before I run out of momentum.

**ElaineB** · 16th-November-2004, 08:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Franklin

For some better quality WCS clips, look here....

Oh, and if anyone wants to feel really inadequate: take a look at the clip with Jordan & Sarah. As I understand the story, Jordan's normal partner had broken her foot, while Sarah's normal partner had injured his back. They made a snap decision to enter together, and only spent a week together practicing...

Dave

Wow, Jordan and Sarah were amazing!!!

Anyone fancy starting a WCS class in Bristol - please?

Elaine

**Divissima** · 16th-November-2004, 08:43 PM

I still can't get the dratted thing to download - what am I doing wrong...?

The first one to say 'still using dial-up' gets a severe talking to!

*Andy McGregor* · 17th-November-2004, 12:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Divissima

The first one to say 'still using dial-up' gets a severe talking to!

Can I just have the 'severe talking to' it sounds like fun

**Lou** · 17th-November-2004, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElaineB

Anyone fancy starting a WCS class in Bristol - please?

In the meantime.... I know that DavidB & Lily are coming to St Bon's in February for a Saturday class.

spindr · 17th-November-2004, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ElaineB

Anyone fancy starting a WCS class in Bristol - please?

Didn't Eric used to run WCS classes?
I remember chatting to Helia once and she said that they hadn't been terribly popular.

Maybe you should ask him again?

SpinDr.

spindr · 17th-November-2004, 10:58 AM

Deleted double post.

jivecat · 17th-November-2004, 11:11 AM

Now I know what "wellie" is (thanks, Divi) but what is/are "chenez"/"chaines"?

David Franklin · 17th-November-2004, 11:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jivecat

Now I know what "wellie" is (thanks, Divi) but what is/are "chenez"/"chaines"?

As far as I know, the formal spelling is chaine' (accent on the e). Once I had a look on the web, what it means isn't as well defined as I thought. Here's one definition which is close to what I mean by it:

Quote:

A turn or chain of turns which are continuous and directional in nature, in which one full turn is made with each two steps.

I always thought it was specifically a sequence of half-turn pivots that travel in a straight line, but it seems a bit more vague than that.

Dave

27th-January-2002, 12:09 AM	#1 (permalink)
Franck Omnipresent Administrator Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Scotland Posts: 2,761 Rep Power: 10 Reputation Total: 1502	Double (treble / multiple) spins Hi, From another thread, I was reminded that a lot of you find spinning (especially multiple spins) a great challenge... So I though I would open a discussion so that everyone could share their best tricks for spinning or to air any questions you might have on the subject. I will kick off the tips with how I discovered the joys of double spins. I was at a Ceroc Marathon in London and for a bit of fun, I decided to wear my kilt... Needless to say, that proved to be a very popular idea (but I'll save that for another time...) However, while dancing, I started noticing that instead of my usual single spin attempts, I started spinning more and better... In fact, the heavy material of the kilt was helping me pace the spin and kept me balanced. It also helped me keep cool for the 24 hour marathon ! Since then, I have kept practising and I am still working on spins, but wearing a kilt certainly gave me a great start... For any women out there reading this, you might want to practise spinning wearing a skirt and see if it does make a difference ! I would like to point out I am not attempting to get all the women in skirts ( ) at Ceroc nights... You can try it out at home, etc... Let me know what you think, or post here any similar experiences of when you cracked the spinning "thing". Cheers, Franck.

9th-November-2004, 02:08 PM	#4 (permalink)
Will Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: London Posts: 1,419 Rep Power: 3 Reputation Total: 557	Re: Double (treble / multiple) spins I'd be interested to know what is the most spins that people have either done or seen done. Remember I mean spins not chenez. I'll start. I've seen Stevie Wong do 3.

11th-November-2004, 09:17 AM	#8 (permalink)
Hevmac Taxi Dancer Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Dundee Posts: 48 Rep Power: 3 Reputation Total: 19	Re: Double (treble / multiple) spins wow what a superb site dave! (wouldn't it be great if we could have video clips of the winners at some of the british comps? or do we??) awesome dancing. the guys especially. jason colacino was just so graceful! forget spins, for me its the way the dance flows and the whole interpretation of the music that impresses. mmmm but thats probably because i am sooo bad at spinning myself! don't agree trampy!! actually you do a pretty good spin!......or 3! so does our very own sheena. [/color]

16th-November-2004, 03:19 PM	#11 (permalink)
Divissima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 1,461 Rep Power: 3 Reputation Total: 244	Re: Double (treble / multiple) spins Just waiting for the link to load... The most spins I've ever done is five or six - but it doesn't happen very often. The most I can do on a normal night is three or four, but there aren't many partners who can lead me into multiple spins so that it all works well. My breakthrough came when I had a private lesson on spinning with Amir. I had just about given up the idea of managing a double spin before that lesson. I find it works best when I try to pull up through the top of my head and pull in my stomach. It's important not to lift up the spare foot, but keep it close to the floor. There's also a trick with driving down the arms which gives the spins some extra wellie* (* technical term, from the latin) and speeds everything up. I tend to find with the extra wellie thing, that I get a bit scared with how fast I can go and wimp out before I run out of momentum.

16th-November-2004, 08:43 PM	#13 (permalink)
Divissima Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Posts: 1,461 Rep Power: 3 Reputation Total: 244	Re: Double (treble / multiple) spins I still can't get the dratted thing to download - what am I doing wrong...? The first one to say 'still using dial-up' gets a severe talking to!

28th-January-2002, 10:25 AM	#2 (permalink)
Stuart M An Eclectic Toaster Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Glasgow Posts: 1,792 Rep Power: 4 Reputation Total: 740	I tried to reply earlier - apologies if a similar post appears The Style Workshop was a great help in learning how to Spin properly. I can now do the Comb followed by a Man's Spin move, and the reaction it gets is great (as far as I know the gal's are probably thinking "Who does that prat think he is?", but I'll just believe they're thinking "Wow!"). Thing is, it works better if you go real slow, like most things done in pairs One thing which would be useful are tips for us blokes in how to make spins as easy as possible for the ladies, Franck. I don't remember it being covered in the workshop, but given the amount of spinning we put them through, we should help out any way we can, eh? SM

17th-November-2004, 10:58 AM	#17 (permalink)
spindr Registered User Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Basingstoke Posts: 1,552 Rep Power: 3 Reputation Total: 680	Re: Double (treble / multiple) spins Deleted double post.

17th-November-2004, 11:11 AM	#18 (permalink)
jivecat Registered User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Planet Zog Posts: 1,470 Rep Power: 3 Reputation Total: 786	Re: Double (treble / multiple) spins Now I know what "wellie" is (thanks, Divi) but what is/are "chenez"/"chaines"?

17th-November-2004, 12:51 PM	#20 (permalink)
Dreadful Scathe Papa Smurf Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Planet Scathe Posts: 9,449 Rep Power: 7 Reputation Total: 2185