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The Second Element – “Dancing Outside Swivels”
The Outside Swivel is a popular type of swivel used in all dances – especially Argentine Tango.
It is also the foundation for the fourth type of turn in our list – Pivot Turns.
As we discussed in Part 1 of this series on turns and spins, there are only two directions in
which you can rotate on a standing foot – towards the outside of the foot or towards the inside
of the foot.
And from these two directions, you can execute five types of turns or rotations:
1) Inside Swivels
2) Outside Swivels
3) Spiral Turns
4) Pivot turns
5) Spin Turns
By learning these 5 types of rotating actions, you will be on your way to mastering any
type of turn or rotation in any pattern.
Skills Required For Turns
There are four main factors that can influence your ability to turn:
* Your ability to maintain your balance on the supporting leg column
* Your ability to swivel the supporting foot enough to complete the turn
* Your ability to create power for the turn
* Your ability to absorb the power in the turn
You were introduced to the first factor in our previous series – Balance “The Elusive Quality”.
In this issue, we’ll concentrate on the second factor: the ability to swivel on the supporting foot.
Many problems with turns occur when the supporting foot does not turn enough. The free leg
tries to complete the turn by going around the supporting leg. This causes a twisting of the hips
and a subsequent loss of alignment and balance on the supporting column.
In our previous issue, Turns and Spins (Part 1), we concentrated on the first type of
turn – Inside Swivels. In this issue, we will focus on the second type of turn – Outside
Swivels (along with learning to properly swivel on the supporting foot as mentioned earlier).
TURN EXERCISE 2 – OUTSIDE SWIVELS
(Print this page so you can try this exercise as you read it)
This exercise will allow you to practice swiveling on the supporting foot, as well as developing
a habit of bringing the free leg to the supporting leg before you turn.
Stand with your right side next to a table or kitchen counter. Put your right hand on the
counter. Stand with your feet together and your weight towards the ball of your left foot.
Take a long step forward with your right foot – by pushing from your supporting or left foot.
As your right foot then becomes the supporting foot, relax the knee and bring your left ankle
to the right ankle. On the ball of your right foot, swivel 1/2 turn to your right, towards the
outside of the right foot. Put your left hand on the counter.
Now you are standing with the counter on your left side, feet together and the weight
towards the ball of the right foot.
Take a long step forward with your left foot – by pushing from your supporting or right foot.
As your left foot then becomes the supporting foot, relax the knee and bring your right ankle to
your left ankle. On the ball of your left foot, swivel 1/2 turn to your left, towards the outside
of the left foot. Put your right hand on the counter.
Now you are (as you were at the beginning of this exercise) standing with the counter on
your right side. Your feet should be together and the weight towards the ball of your left foot.
Easy, right? Repeat the same swivel exercise several times.
Make sure your knees and ankles are kept together while swiveling on the supporting foot.
Also be sure to concentrate on leading the swivel turn from your hips.
As you get more proficient, you can practice away from the counter and concentrate more on
balance and the supporting column. For example, let’s try the following: As you are stepping
onto the right foot, become more aware of your right column as you turn. As your are
stepping onto the left foot, concentrate on your left column as you turn.
Later, you can also try performing the same swivel action with your supporting leg straight
as you arrive onto it and swivel, then relaxing it as you are ready to move on to the next
leg at the end of the swivel.
Happy Dancing,
Blanche & Emilio
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Next Issue:
Spiral Turns – A beautiful and popular turn used in all dances – especially Latin Dances.
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