“I can generally do 60 pirouettes on a good day,” says the young 12-year-old holder of the record for consecutive spins (a series of pirouettes without stopping), Sofia Lucia, with a smile.
Sofia Lucia broke the record for the number of pirouettes (55) and entered her name into the Guinness Book of Records on March 30, 2013. It is noteworthy that during the rotation she was not wearing simple or, but tap shoes from Capezio.
We invite you to watch the video showing the record:
So, do you want to learn the spinning secrets shared by Sofia Lucia and improve your personal performance in pirouette spinning?
#1. Posture
Rotations are performed with a taut and straight body, “tailbone pulled in,” “neck long,” chin pointing upward. This will help you level the balance and tighten the axis necessary for long-term rotations. "My first piece of advice for dancers who really want to achieve impressive results is I do ballet over 15 hours a week, take Pilates and private jazz classes. I believe this helps me stay in great shape, which in turn helps me spin for so long , as far as the force is enough and as far as dance shoes allow." - says Sofia Lucia.
#2. Dot
All dancers know that to spin you need to "hold the point", but I wonder if you are able to change the point quickly enough? In order to rotate for a long time and a lot, you need to train a sharp and lightning-fast change of point. The point should be kept at the level of your eyes and slightly higher. Don't look at the floor, otherwise you will end up there.
#3. Alignment (cross)
“You should concentrate on aligning the line of your shoulders with the line of your pelvis, they should be parallel.” - explains Sofia Lucia. If you don’t align the lines of your shoulders and pelvis when you start spinning, you won’t be able to get your balance and your spin won’t last long, a maximum of 3 pirouettes. To do this, you should train in front of a mirror, stand in relevé and make sure that the lines of your shoulders and pelvis (hips) are parallel.
Also, in front of the mirror, you should control your body position, stand sideways and make sure that you are not leaning forward or leaning too back.
#4. Balance
When performing pirouettes, you balance on a half-finger (relevé), practice balance without rotation. If you can’t stand on a half-toe without rotating, then you won’t be able to stand in a turn. Practice half-toe balance without rotation, train both left and right legs, stand for eight counts at a very slow pace, this will strengthen your axis.
What types of rotation do you train, classic turnout or jazz closed? Train each type of balancing until you can, it will come in handy in your career as a dancer; modern show groups use all types of techniques. To make it more interesting and not so boring, arrange a competition with your class friends - who can stay in the pirouette position without spinning longer?
#5. Your thumb
Where does your finger point when rotating? If your toe is not pointing in the same direction as your knee, the rotation is not correct and you will not be able to achieve multi-rotation. Stand on your half toe and make sure that you are not “bumping” and that your thumb is pointing in the same direction as your knee. There's nothing worse than a club-footed dancer!
If your foot is positioned correctly, your weight will be distributed correctly and you will be able to create a better axis for rotation. Make sure that while spinning you are not jumping on the half toe, that you are not “playing” up and down and that your instep is as tight as possible. Throughout the entire rotation, you should stand on the maximum possible half-toe.
#6. Use a dance floor (parquet)
Push off the deep plié floor with all your strength to create the maximum possible rotational energy. Imagine a jack-in-the-box toy, you push it down into the box and when you open it, it shoots upward with maximum force, while you direct this energy into rotation using your hands.
Push off from the plié with enough force to stand on a half-toe and extend your knee, and of course no more than necessary, otherwise you may not be able to resist.
There is also a technique in which, while performing a plie, the dancer exhales and then inhales briefly during the first turn, which allows increasing the moment of rotation using additional force.
#7. Appropriate shoes
Sophia Lucia set a record for the number of pirouettes in tap shoes from the world famous brand Capezio. She found that the smooth metal surface of the plate on the toe allowed it to rotate without much friction on the floor. Thus, depending on the choreography, wear a specialized one. It is not recommended to spin without shoes; you may scratch the skin on the balls of your feet.
#8. Hands
Have you noticed that when performing a series of pirouettes, the arms in subsequent turns are closer to the body than in the first turn? Absolutely right! During a series of pirouettes, it is very important not to lose the energy of rotation; for this, the dancer must skillfully gather his hands to the body, distribute the energy for each turn, so that in each subsequent turn the hands are a little closer than in the previous one. Try it in practice, if you don’t bring your hands together, then the rotation will not be fast or long, but if you suddenly pull your hands towards your body, you will spin sharply at a higher speed.
A beautiful and clear turn is an elegant highlight that adorns our dance. However, the most common problem that appears when starting training is dizziness and, as a result, loss of clarity in movements. This is what this series of articles will be devoted to - what ways to avoid dizziness when turning and what to do if such a situation does happen.
There are 2 completely opposite techniques for maintaining clarity when turning - holding a point and defocusing your gaze.
The technique of holding a point is based on the fact that during a rotation the dancer selects a point and holds it with his gaze while his body rotates. This gave rise to two options for focusing on a point—on a distant object and on a near object.
Holding a point on a distant object
Focusing your gaze on a distant object is the most common way to avoid dizziness. Let's consider the mechanics of movement when turning in one place:
- the dancer begins to turn, the head remains pointing straight, the selected point is held with the gaze
— the dancer has turned 90 degrees, the head remains pointing straight, the selected point is held with the gaze
- the dancer turns more than 90 degrees (a position when we can no longer leave the head in a straight position), the head turns in the direction of rotation of the body at a higher speed than the body, the selected point is not held with the gaze
- the dancer turns more than 180 degrees, the head comes to a straight position, due to the fact that it has already turned in the direction of the turn, the selected point is held with the gaze
- the dancer finishes the rotation, completing a turn of up to 360 degrees, the head is in a straight position, the selected point is held with the gaze 
Preparation
However, you cannot do without additional preparation before starting training. Additional preparation will be faced with the task of maintaining the dancer’s axis of rotation without distortion and without harming the body.
Mandatory exercises before performing holding a point on a distant object:
- turn your head in different directions, keeping your head strictly vertical.
The peculiarity of human movement is that when we turn our head to the side, it does not remain vertical, but slightly “falls” in the direction of the turn. To correct this, ask an assistant to gently turn your head to the side to a strictly vertical position. Physically, this is felt as additional work of the neck muscles on the opposite side. Practice and control will allow you to maintain a strictly vertical head position during any turn. If the moment of “collapse” of the head is not removed, then during rotation the body is a single straight axis, and the head gives a bend to this axis. The consequence is that the axis is unstable and it is more difficult for us to maintain the turn.
- rotation with motionless, beautifully horizontally placed hands.
The problem is that when spinning, many of us instinctively begin to pull one or both arms towards us. As a result, the size of the turning arm changes, which again affects the retention of rotation (remember physics lessons and figure skaters who, by changing the positions of their arms and legs, control the characteristics of their turns). In addition, this one does not look very aesthetically pleasing. The only way out is to turn on good music, place your hands and practice turns, controlling their immobility.
In move
The technique of holding a point on a distant object while rotating in one place is clear. But what if we move? There are also “life hacks” for this case:
- moving in a straight line
When moving in a straight line, it only seems that it is impossible to find a stationary distant point. This point will be the first thing we can catch our eye on in the direction of movement at the level of our head. To put it simply: we look where we need to go.
It is very convenient to train such a point in the gym in front of a mirror, rotating on the mirror. We choose the reflection of our eyes as a fixed point and try not to let them out of sight until the end of the rotation track
- moving in a circle
Here the technique of holding a fixed point in the direction of rotation will not work for us, because this very direction will constantly change and we just have to choose what will be relatively unchanged when rotating in a circle - the position of the center.
If you hold a point with your gaze on the floor itself, then there can often be such a mistake as a lowered head, so let’s choose a point about 0.5 meters above the floor - and the head at such a point does not look lowered, and the point itself is easy to hold
Holding a point on a nearby object
This technique is much less common than the technique of holding a point on a distant object, but it can achieve very high rotation speeds without losing focus or experiencing dizziness.
The essence of the technique is that an object is selected that will be visible to the eye and rotate with us. I use something for this 
powerful ring (so you can see it in any light). Starting to rotate, we focus our vision on the ring, which is put on a horizontally placed hand - it will be a stationary object for us.
Rotation technique with defocused vision
But what if during rotation our head does not remain motionless, but must make additional rotations/swings of the hair? In this situation, it is almost impossible to keep your gaze on the point! In this case, there is practically only one way out - defocusing the vision.
The dancer, before starting to perform an element, defocuses her vision and, after finishing the element, collects it again on one of the fixed points
Afterword
But what should you do if you still feel dizzy, but you still have a very large part of the dance to finish? If we get dizzy while rotating, then during training we remove it by rotating our heads in the opposite direction. In dance, this can be played out by making turns in the opposite direction. 1-2 turns are enough to restore focus.
I hope the above techniques will help you avoid dizziness and skidding when cornering. It’s not for nothing that they say that each dancer had her own favorite pillar into which she was carried. I wish you all creative success and non-traumatic dancing!
Professional dancers, before mastering the skill of excellent rotation, go through a considerable path of training and practice, full of falls and sprains. But there is one important point when performing this action: thoughts. As you spin, think about the following:
1. Get ready to spin and accept that you will succeed. You will never be able to spin well if you think it is very difficult. Men and women, regardless of their size or flexibility, can learn to rotate well. At the same time, the first thing you need to do is realize that everything will work out. Your goal is to make a full turn and end the movement there. If you always keep this goal in mind, it will be of great help to you during the spin.
2. Rotate your shoulders as quickly as possible. Professionals say that rotation will only happen when you use your shoulders correctly. It is they, and not the head, arms, legs, that give the impetus to movement. By rotating your shoulders, you ensure that your body follows them, which helps establish balance throughout the rotation.
3. Keep your legs half bent. People who try to spin with straight legs are doomed to fail. Your legs should be soft and springy, in which case your body weight will be closer to the floor, which will add stability to you.
4. Distribute your weight equally on both legs. If you have to do a lot of spins, be sure to keep your feet together. Don't cross your legs or step on them.
5. Keep your body straight. This way you will not only look beautiful, but also keep your balance and control your body during rotations.
6. Tension in the legs. You need to strain your legs as much as possible. This will only enhance the balance you should feel. You need to learn to feel every muscle in your legs.
7. Find a place for your free hand- this should be the space in front of the stomach, the palm is turned down, as if it were lying on a table. This will help you keep your balance. Under no circumstances should you keep your hands on your hips or behind your back while spinning. It looks very ugly.
8. Keep your balance even if your partner doesn’t do it very well. If he lets go of you during a pair spin (there can be many reasons: sweaty hands, awkwardly clasped fingers and toes), continue spinning as if this did not happen.
If you are interested in a portal that always has the latest popular music from a wide variety of artists, dancelist.net is for your attention - a world of music collected in one place. Lesson 1.
1. Introductory talk about rotations
2. The concept of “point”, square
3. Preparation for rotations in the middle - Relevé, working out the half-fingers, back position - “cross” feeling
4. Working on half-turns and turns in the middle, with the head fixed on a point
5. Working on turns with the addition of Soutenu
6. Exercise “Fashionista”
7. Full turn Soutenu
8. Diagonal
- types of rotations (rotations with advancement, point rotations, combined rotations)
- rotation in VI position
- rotation with Glissade
- shenet
- “pancakes” (simple, with a jump, with a heel)
- rotation with legs tucked - Saut de basque
9. Middle
- positioning of hands for rotations
Lesson 2.
1. Talk about rotations
2. Positioning hands for rotations
3. Preparing the legs for rotations
4. Running with Saut de basque
5. Saut de basque diagonally
6. Children's version of spin on jumps in the middle and diagonally
7. Preparation for rotation on the spot with leg lifting (one leg; alternately - right, left)
8. Tour chain
9. Mid Spin
- on one leg
- with change of legs
- with stepping over
- on heels
Lesson 3.
1. Hand work
2. Running in a turn with legs fixed in VI position towards the viewer in the character of the Belarusian dance
3. Rotation with displacement in two columns in the character of the Belarusian dance
4. Combined rotations in the middle in the character of the Belarusian dance
- with stepping and turning soutenu
- full turn with two jumps on the supporting leg
- with stepping over
- with the foot pulled out onto the heel
5. Preparing for the air tour
6. Voronezh “cockerel”
7. Techniques for ending rotations
- stopping on the front leg with a kick
- stopping on the front leg with De gage
- with a stop at the top
- with stop down
8. Teaching the endings of diagonal rotations
- with Saut de basque
9. Bow
Lesson 4.
1. Bow
2.Tour chain
3. Fall in a turn with hands in the middle
4. Prepation for rotations
- from Demi plie to VI, II positions
- with a “pounce”
- to the pressed
- "through time"
- in a row
5. "Obertas"
- Preparation
- Ukrainian
- with a hand in Ukrainian character
- with emphasis to the side
- in Russian character
- "goat"
- with a “gun”
- with a hand in Russian character
6. Combined diagonal rotations
- Tour chaine with Saut de basque
- Tour chaine with Saut de basque with hands
- Bow
Lesson 5.
1. Combination spins in promotion
- Tour chain shape
- pancake shape
- with a shift in emphasis
2. Fractional rotations
- with double
- with the foot raised to the heel
- with a hammer (without a hand, with a hand)
- with stepping on heels
- with stepping on heels in the middle
- with stepping on heels and a tour in the middle
- "Obertas" with Fouette
- "overtas" with stepping
- "obertas" En dehors and En dedans
- Glissade, Fouette and step rotation
3. Rotations in a circle
- “pancakes”
4. Running in a diagonal turn
5. Running and Saut de basque
6. Running with "Obertas"
7. Rotation - dismount on pads
8. Bow
Lesson 6.
1. Bow 2. Diagonal rotation - on heel
- with Tour chain
- with Glissade
- Glissade, Fouette, Tour chaine
- with the foot raised to the heel
3. Spin ending options
- key
4. Diagonal rotation
- busting on heels
- with “pancakes”
- with Saut de basque
- slider
- circle runner
5. spinning with a spinning top partner
6. Course Rotation - summing up
7. Bow
Rotation technique
Recently I was able to discover a technique that prevents awakening and allows you to induce a new dream by force of will. I have found that awareness of the sleep state often interrupts its progress, leading to immediate awakening. Since dream action corresponds to events in the physical world, it could be assumed that relaxation of the dream body could prevent awakening by reducing muscle tension in the physical body. The next time I was in a lucid dream, I tested this idea. As soon as the dream began to fade, I fell to the floor, completely relaxing my body. However, contrary to my assumption, it seemed to me that I had woken up. However, a few minutes later I realized that this was just a false awakening. Further experiments confirmed the correctness of the assumption. I discovered that the main element of this method is not relaxation, but a sense of movement. In subsequent dreams, I experienced a variety of movements and realized that falling on my back and spinning were most effective for creating a new lucid dream.
The technique is very simple. As soon as the image begins to fade, you must either fall on your back or start spinning like a top (using your dream body, of course!). In order for the method to work, it is necessary to obtain a vivid sensation of movement. Usually this procedure causes a scene change in a dream. For me, the new setting is often the bedroom in which I sleep. After this, I can continue to admire the new lucid dream scene if I can remember that I was asleep when the transition began. Without such extra effort, it may seem that a new dream is a real awakening. And this despite the obvious manifestations of absurdity in the content of the dream!
This method is very effective. In the more than one hundred dreams I have had over the past six months, which I cited in the three-year report that accompanied my doctoral dissertation, I have used the described technique 40 percent of the time, and 85 percent of the time I have been able to create a new dream. Consciousness returned to me in 97 percent of my new dreams. When the rotation gave birth to a new dream, its setting was always closely related to the bed on which I slept, and to the bedroom in general.
The experiences of other lucid dreamers who have used this technique are very similar to what I have described, but the new dream in them is not always associated with a bedroom scene. One such dreamer, after using the rotation method, found herself outside her bedroom in five out of eleven cases.
This result suggests that after applying rotation, a person usually ends up where he expects to be. In my case, the almost constant occurrence of bedroom dreams may be an unfortunate consequence of the environment in which I discovered this method. From time to time I tried unsuccessfully to create some other dream. However, although I was eager to be outside my bedroom, I couldn't say that I really expected it. And yet I do not lose hope that one day I will be able to get this annoying association out of my head (if that is the case). After all, faith can move mountains, at least in dreams.
Why can imaginary movement affect sleep? A neurophysiological explanation can be given for this. The vestibular system, located in our inner ear (and helps us maintain balance), controls information about head and body movements. This information enters the brain and, together with vision, helps it create an optimal and stable picture of the world. It is in this that lies the confidence that the world will remain in the same position, even if we bow our heads.
Because the sensation of movement during rotation in a dream is as vivid as the sensation of real movement, the brain acts in the same way in both cases. The rotation technique stimulates the vestibular system and helps activate the REM sleep system located next to it. This assumption is not without foundation if we recall the connection between the vestibular apparatus and rapid eye movement during REM sleep, discovered by neurophysiologists 24 .
There is another side to this “psychological coin”. Barbara Lerner has repeatedly noted the importance of movement in sleep to achieve the integrity of the body image 25 . If movement is a psychological function of dreaming, as she suggests, then there must be a mechanism linking imagery to the psychology of REM sleep. Moreover, if imaginary feelings can reduce susceptibility to external stimulation of the same kind, then why not imaginary movement suppress real body sensations and prevent awakening. If the brain is completely occupied with creating a strong internal sensation of rotation, it will have a more difficult time responding to the opposite sensation coming from outside. This is an example of what is called "boot stabilization" of the system. Charles Tart explained this with the following analogy: “If you want someone to become a good citizen, you must engage him completely in the activities befitting a good citizen, then he will have no energy left for anything else.”26 In our terminology, "being a good citizen" means continuing to dream, and "activity" means spinning in a dream.
There is another technique that is less effective than rotation, but which is based on the same principle. This technique involves focusing attention on the dream element. Moers-Mesmer described the technique of gazing at the ground in 1938 as a means of stabilizing sleep. Almost simultaneously, similar methods were discovered by many researchers, including Scott Sparrow and Carlos Castaneda. This is how the “Don Juan” variation on the theme “look at your hands” appeared.
Another way to prevent awakening and loss of awareness is to stabilize consciousness using “positive feedback.” Returning to Tarte's analogy, one could say that a citizen engaged in some activity is always considered good. There are several methods that fall under this classification. It is suggested, for example, to use statements that constantly remind you that you are in a dream state (you can, for example, repeat the phrase “This is a dream, this is a dream ...”). According to another method, it is necessary to “go with the flow” of sleep all the time and not try to resist events. If we assume that the neurophysiological explanations for my rotation technique are correct, then it can also be attributed to the phenomenon of positive feedback. If rotation in a dream leads to the continuation of REM sleep, then we have before us a type of activity in a dream - rotation - leading to a further increase in activity.
The third way to stabilize a lucid dream is called "limiting stabilization." This method, according to Tart, is analogous to restricting a citizen's ability to take part in undesirable activities. In relation to lucid dreams, the “unwanted activity” can be awakening and loss of awareness. This method underlies many lucid dream stabilization systems. Some people are encouraged to do certain exercises, eat healthy, and avoid indigestion to promote sleep. Others are encouraged to cover their ears or sleep alone. However, there are also universal recommendations: it is necessary to avoid emotional conflicts in the waking state and excessive enthusiasm during lucid sleep. Finally, I would like to advise lucid dreamers not to think too much during sleep and not to lose themselves in the dream.
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