Learn the salsa right turn for followers: footwork on 5-6-7, spotting and arm connection step by step, with the most common mistakes and honest timelines.
The honest answer: the follower's right turn is a clockwise turn (seen from above) danced on counts 5-6-7 while the leader's hand stays above your head. Some schools call it an "outside turn", others name right and left turns the other way round. Ask your teacher what applies in your class.
It is the first figure where you really rotate on your own as a follower. That is exactly why most people get too fast here. Salsa already costs breath: in a study with ten dance couples the load was 41 to 52 % of heart-rate reserve depending on the situation, close to the threshold where breathing becomes noticeably faster [1]. A small, calm turn saves you air and nerves.
Realistic: roughly right after a few practice evenings. On the beat, without wobbling and with a relaxed arm usually takes much longer (experience, not a study result).
Stand in front of a focus point. Turn slowly clockwise around your axis and keep your head on the point as long as possible. Then whip it round and find the point again. Direct your attention to the point on the wall, not to how you hold your head: an appraisal of small studies sees benefits of an outward focus in less experienced dancers, although the evidence is thin [2]. In children learning a ballet pirouette, those looking at a wall point rotated further than those who watched their head position [3] (TRANSFER from ballet, not salsa).
Milestone: five turns in a row without stumbling sideways.
Schools count and place the feet slightly differently, so here is only the principle (standard practice, no study evidence): on 5 you step forward as in the basic, on 6 you begin the turn to the right over the ball of the foot, on 7 you finish it and stand securely again. Count 8 is your pause. Practise first without music, then to slow music.
Milestone: you arrive on 8 before the music runs away from you, and on 1 you can return to the basic step immediately.
The arm being led stays at a comfortable height with a soft elbow. The leading hand forms a "roof" you walk under; it does not pull you or lift you. Keep your hand loose in the grip so that it can turn with you. If you hold on to the hand, you turn in the shoulder instead of in the body.
Now the leader joins in. They show the signal with a small lift of the hand on 4 or at the start of 5. Your job: wait for that signal instead of anticipating the turn. Keep tension in the hand but do not clamp. The connection between two people is a real source of information: in a lab study with linked arms (not a salsa study) participants adjusted their arm tension to the partner, and whoever had the more accurate information took the lead [4].
Only when the turn is secure at slow speed do you raise the tempo. Watch the exit: after the turn you stand in the basic-step line again and the hands release into the starting hold. If you stumble away, the turn was too big or too fast.
Turns load the knee and ankle. In a survey of 450 non-professional salsa dancers, 22 % of the women and 14 % of the men reported at least one injury in the past year, women about twice as likely as men; per 1000 hours of dancing there were roughly 1.1 injuries among women [5]. That is rather low, but not zero.
Dizziness is part of the beginning. In experienced ballet dancers, dizziness reactions to rotations are weakened by training [6] (TRANSFER, there are no salsa data). For you that means: dizziness is not a sign you are doing something wrong, but also not a reason to keep spinning. Pause, sit down, drink water.
Practical note without study evidence: the leading hand never pulls your arm beyond a comfortable range. Stop immediately if you feel pain in the shoulder or neck. This guide explains the principle and does not replace supervised training: have the footwork shown to you in class.
Film your turn from behind and look at just one thing: does your head stay on the point at the end of the turn, or does it jerk? Ten seconds of video analysis show whether you release your eyes from the focus point too early. That is the most common reason for dizziness and a wobbly exit.
A clockwise turn of the follower under the raised arm of the leader, usually danced on 5-6-7. The name "outside turn" is not the same everywhere, so in every class the teacher's definition applies.
With spotting: eyes on a fixed point, whip the head round late and start with small, slow turns. Dizziness often eases with practice, but if it persists, stop and have it checked medically.
Roughly after a few practice evenings; clean and relaxed on the beat usually much later. There is no fixed number, it depends on your basic step, how often you practise and the quality of the lead.
Moderate to noticeable. In one study salsa situations were at 41 to 52 % of heart-rate reserve [1], in another at 3.9 to 5.5 METs [7], which is enough for a decent endurance workout even without wild turns.
Salsa Left Turn for the Follower: Making Your Weaker Side Stable