hahahaha i think the problem comes in coping with with a BIG group of us....

Hi Suman,

I have been doing 'hardcore' practising for the past 2 weeks- dancing 5-6days per week and each time at least about 3hours.

Lately, i felt that the arch of my feet are 'pulling' and the the balls of my feet to my toes area are aching and hurting abit when when i try to wriggle them (esp my left foot ).

I am wondering if this is normal and for professionals like yourself who dance long hours, how do you 'pamper', care, and manage your tired feet?

Thank you for your time in helping me out with this

cheerios

Hi Christina,

To tell you the truth, no i have never pampered my feet, i mean i know its a women thing to 'pamper' but of all the women dancing friends i know none really pamper their feet, but here is what you can do, first if you are wearing heels make sure that those heels are not really unconfortable, coz if they are they will reduce your danicng energy in every way, if they are comfortable and you still feel pain at the toes then use a pair of toe pads that are available from watson's, they are good and they help cushion your toes when dancing.

Before dancing warm up, especially your feet and hip area, those are the ones that give you a lot of problem. Ask you instructor for foot warm ups and hip warm ups. Do them first and then dance, it will help you dance longer.

Lastly if you still feel your feminine side kicking in more towards pampering, here is what you can do, when you shower at night use some warm water to soak your feet but not too long then use a balm like tiger balm or Golden cup balm to rub your feet a bit and go to sleep, it helps a lot.

That was i said above was strictly for beginners who should ALWAYS dance in heels.

Once you reach an intermediate level of dancing, (attending intermediate class does not mean you dancing is also at the intermediate level) then dance in heels for half the night and then switch to jazz or blocs for the other half.

At an advanced level, dance in heels for one night and in jazz or blocs for the other night.

Hope your pain reduces if it does not then chances are you are wearing the wrong shoes or you are putting your weight at the wrong place while general dancing.

Thank you, Suman! Looks like it is time for some investigation... hahaha, weight change problem or wrong shoes?

I really appreciate the advice and tips which you so readily share with all of us here.. =p

hope you have a gd week ahead.

cheerios

Hi suman.... i have a question?? when i do a right turn follow by a hook turn... most gers will turn on my hook turn because my arm is still up.... how to i prep them that it's a hook turn and not a ger's right turn??

There is no prep to let girls know that you are doing a hook turn, infact

Error 1: After your turn your arm should come down immediately, after any turn your arms should come down always, right, left, CBL, CBLT, CBR, CBRT. Whatever. That is the one that is misleading the girl that sends them for second right turn.

Error2: I 'think' if and when you are doing your hook turn you are unable to isolate yourself with the lady, which means when you hold on to the arms and do a hook turn there is probably a little tug or tension in the arms which sends the girl for the second hook turn. Now remember for any turn, spin for the leader, he must isolate himself from the lady without making her feel any lead which in other words means just basic steps for the lady and nothing else.

Wakatta? [/img]

Cool!!!!!!Thanks man... really need to take note of that now...

Hi Suman,

Would like to clarify on your last post. Do you mean that at the end of count 3 once I completed a right turn, i should lower the hand and at count 5(she would have missed the prep on count 4 and will think it is a normal basic) I raise it up again to complete my hook turn?

Would some girls turn instinctively cos the hand is raised at that count or would they misunderstand it to be a late lead? Even when there is no thug on the hand, some girls may just turn cos they assume that hand up on count 5 means they need to turn on 6 and 7. Is there a way to prevent this?

Thanks

Sunny,

Lets take two situations,

1. Leader does a right turn and then followed by a hook turn, leader has his arms up at all times which means the leader does an under the arm hook.

2. Leader does a right turn and a hook turn, leader has the arm up in the right turn but low during the hook turn, or has it low all through out.

In the second situation i dont think there is much of a problem, coz during the hook the arms will be low anyways the chances of the follower being confused is less.

However in the second case there is a little problem, in case of the hook turn, it is very important that during the turn the arm connection between the leader and follower should be on the leaders head and not the followers.

So to answer your question if you were executing the first one .. no you do not need to lower arm and raise it again, you keep it up all the way but for the right turn keep the connection nearer to the followers forehead, for the hook turn keep it on your head. while for the second case you should not have made any mistakes at all in leading coz the hand is down anyways, whatever be the reason, when leaders turn there should not be any tension or tug of arm or pull or push to the follower, you HAVE to isolate and turn your self.

OK... Tried on Moon. I kept my hand just above my head so she could tell that it wasn't meant for her.

Thanks for the advice.

Hi Suman,

I think a lot of people(especially me) are still struggling with our double turns. Is there any tricks to make yourself turn more and smoother Normally I can do my 1.5 turns but when I try doing double turns, I lose balance even b4 the 1.5 mark.

What sort of training, pactice methods do you propose?

me too... i can do double turn with "pedalling" and with partner. but i cant do any double turn at all when im doing it on my own. suman pls help..

sigh... moon, whatever you have, make it 2 cuz i have exactly the same problem!

Firstly Spinning is something that is not really achieveable overnight. So dont get disheartened, the good thing is that you guys are trying and I am sure with the correct technique you will achieve it sooner or later.

In a nutshell spinning gets better only when you know your own body dynamics better. To know your own body dynamics better make sure you are doing a lot more warm ups that help you get thru to this and not just spinning any how.

Some of the warm ups that I teach in pre intermediate:
Chene turns (1,2 and 3)
half pivot turns
spots
single spins left and right

Infact the whole pre intermediate session focusses in spinning and strictly spinning. Remember salsa technique and ballet technique of spinning are different.

Some of the ground rules that you need to observe for the salsa technique are the following.

1. Unlock knees
2. Straighten spinal chord
3. Chest up
4. Keep the momentum on the same plane
5. Distribute body weight evenly during take off
6. Spot

Spinning is an art that is easily said and explained than done, its like building a muscle everyone can tell you what weight to use and how much to use and which machine to work on but to build it is something that can only be achieved with regular practice of the above mentioned.

Different between ladies and mens technique:

I could write an essay on this but to make it short and easy men make sure you focuss on the hook turns more and the forward step spins. Women make sure that you focus on the "prep". The prep is like a take off for a plane, if your prep is incorrect then you may lose balance again and again and you may have to rely on the guy too much. So work hard on the prep.

You only know you have achieved the technique when you stop pedalling and start spinning on one momentum.

Guys when you are spinning the ladies, make sure that you setting the crown in the correct plane. Keep your arms locked, keep the speed and pace correct. Crown properly and do not pivot fingers above the head. Prep them on time and do not disbalance them during the prep.