Throwback Thursday and Spotting

Throwback Thursday and Spotting

A student asked recently where “spotting” came from. As all dancers know, spotting is what keeps us from becoming so dizzy during turns that we crash into things. Here is the technical definition: “Spotting is the process of delaying the rotation of the head, relative to the body's rotational speed, by way of visual focus on one or more fixed points in space.” Well! To simplify this, spotting just means keeping the head (and focus) fixed for a period of time while the body rotates underneath.

But where did this technique originate? It is believed that Carlo Blasis (http://balletwebb.blogspot.com/2015/03/throwback-thursday-and-carlo-blasis.html) invented spotting, and according to the website www.the-perfect-pointe.com http://www.the-perfect-pointe.com/PointeHistory.html, spotting was the “secret weapon” of the Italian school that allowed for feats of virtuosity such as multiple turns.

I suspect spotting could also have been an outgrowth of a natural inclination to keep looking at a fixed place while the body turns. But Carlo Blasis took the idea and refined it.

The truth is, we don’t really know for sure. If you find any old papers hidden in an attic that describe the first use of spotting in dance, let me know!

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets:

Secret #83:  

“Spotting is believed to have been invented by Carlo Blasis.”

                Link of the Day:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2434572/Why-ballet-dancer-gets-dizzy-Scientists-uncover-differences-ballerinas-brains-mean-endless-pirouettes.html

Quote of the Day:

““Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and, therefore, the foundation of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.”
― J.K. Rowling

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http://balletconnections.com/DebraWebbRogers