Rotor (flatspin) and Propeller – Two Similar Washing Machines
Rotor and propeller are two very similar washing machine techniques, and many people tend to confuse them. After looking at several variations, I tried to clarify the key differences between the two.
What they have in common:
In both techniques, the flyer spins in a head-down position with a straight body, rotating continuously in the same direction. The base uses the same leg technique — stepping on the flyer’s hips to create the rotation.
What’s different:
In propeller, there is constant hand contact, and in bird pose the grip is crossed. There’s no pop — the base only steps.
Rotor, on the other hand, is slightly more advanced: the hands are released and regripped during the sequence, and the hand connection is always straight (not crossed). Rotor also has a popped version, where the transition through 5th position is done with a pop instead of a step.
Rotor = Flatspin
Jacob Brown and Debbie Collis
40 Flatspins (rotors)
In this washing machine, the hands are released, and the cross step is not a step, but a throw, that is, a pop.
Here they only hold hands when the flyer is in bird. There is no handshold on the reverse bird turn. At the beginning of the video there is a step, in the second half it is already a pop. Yogatravel1
Only at front bird has hand contact, at reverse bird does not, and at bird the side star change happens with a pop! It can be accelerated well.
Used transitions
Inside Star 5th position Tic toc
This is an interesting transition — one I personally really like. It appears in several washing machines, so it’s worth studying and learning. Jacob Brown’s …
Reverse Bird Tic-toc
This movement swings from one side of Inside Star to the other, like a tic-toc, using Reverse Bird as a bridge. Inside star transition via …
Propeller, the similar washing machine
Propeller
A reversed bird tic toc and a 5th pos. tic toc alternate in this flow. The flyer stays horizontal, facing …
