Spins and turns are a common feature of modern partner dances, particularly swing and Latin-derived dances, and Lindy Hop is no exception. The basic movement involves the dancer rotating on the spot; the rotation is usually 360°, and it is more common for the follower to rotate than the leader. In this book we use the word "turn" to describe a rotation where the leader and the follower maintain hand contact throughout the rotation, and "spin" to describe a rotation where there is no contact between the dancers.

In either case, the footwork involved is the same; the rotation takes place in a two beat interval, and usually involves three steps (a triple step). For a spin on the spot, the first step usually crosses one foot in front or behind the other, and the next two steps are taken in place.

Because spins and turns are so common in the dance, it is useful for beginning dancers to practise the motion until they are comfortable with it. Once they are comfortable with it, it is easier to cope when the music gets faster or when larger rotations are led.

A technique for reducing dizziness with fast or multiple spins is spotting: the spinning dancer picks a spot to focus their eyes on. As the dancer's body rotates, they continue to focus on that spot for as long as possible; if the spin is to the right (clockwise), this means their head is turning to the left relative to their body. When the head can turn no further (looking over their left shoulder in this case), the dancer quickly whips their head around to the other side (looking over their right shoulder) and focuses again on the same spot as before.

The benefit of spotting is that the head remains stationary for the majority of the spin; the 360° rotation of the head is compressed into a smaller amount of time, which reduces dizziness.