Head spot

A head spot , in German: head point , is a point in space that a dancer aims at when he turns with a delayed head movement . The term is synonymous with the term fixation point used in perceptual psychology .

When turning with the head spot, the body is turned first while the gaze fixes the head spot for as long as possible and thus keeps the head facing the corresponding direction. Only at the last moment does the head perform the entire rotation at once, aiming at the head spot again as quickly as possible. This technique leads to better orientation of the dancer when turning and prevents the dizziness that occurs , because by jumping the gaze from one fixation point to the next - also called saccade - the visual perception is briefly interrupted and the brain does not with a dizzying flood of unimportant visual stimuli is flooded. A 360 ° rotation does not always have to be performed. In principle, all degrees of rotation are possible.

In addition to the perceptual psychological reasons, the head spot also apparently generates faster rotations for the viewer, since he is more likely to look at the head and not consciously perceive the forward and backward turning of the body.

The turning technique is common in all modern dance styles that rely on pointed and precise movements, e.g. B. ballet , the Latin American tournament dances , swing , rock 'n' roll , boogie-woogie , salsa , jazz dance .