Linedance Week in Galeri Resort Alanya, Turkey / 25th Sep to 2nd Oct, 2022
with Niels B. Poulsen, Shane McKeever and José M. Belloque Vane
For a few years already I enjoy very nice dance videos with very famous choreographers in a place I did not know. The first dance that I remember very well is „Italiano“. In the video you see Rachael, Niels Poulsen and Shane McKeever, who was not so well known to me at that time, showing a snappy dance with a lot of fun, on a tiny, very long stage in front of a bright white dance floor with dancers in very summery outfits. Then I saw Gary in this setting. And again I wondered, where this event was taking place and who was organizing it. I had a great desire to participate. Somehow or other I found out that the event takes place in the Galeri Resort in Alanya Turkey. My question to the hotel, who is the organizer, was not answered. As luck would have it, but when I think about it, it was no coincidence at all that Kathrin Seiband was able to answer my question in the beginning of 2022. She really knows a lot about line dancing and was exactly the right person for this question. She said quite casually: „Yes, I know. We recently booked there“. Ha!! I dared to ask if I could join her group. The answer to this question was also „yes“ and so it did not take long and I had a ticket for the event and a ticket for the flight to Antalya. It should be my reunion with Turkey, which I had left in October 1993 after living in Incirlik near Adana for 2 years.
The registration is done with a travel agency in Denmark. But the person in charge is Janni Mette Nygaard Lauridsen. She has been organizing this event since 10 years, always in Turkey, of which mostly in Galeri Resort, a 5-star all-inclusive hotel 30 km outside of Alanya. Janni does an incredible job to prepare this event, which is mainly visited by line dancers from Denmark. In addition, line dancers from Sweden, France, England and the USA came in the past years before Corona. After Corona, the event is held again for the first time in Sept 22 and instead of an average of 110 people, this year there are around 80 line dancers, mostly from Denmark. A few are from Sweden and a small group from northern Germany, in which I, arriving from Bamberg, felt very comfortable as the 7th wheel on the wagon.
To get to know the Galeri Resort please view the video.
Janni is 46 years old, has been line dancing since 2005. For many years she is part of the United Liners near Silkeborg. Randi Ostergaard is the coach in this group. Janni has 3 grown daughters and a son, who still lives with her. She works full time as a nurse in a hospital. She treats patients who suffered a stroke. She is doing further education at the University of Aarhus while working. You would think that work, studies, family and line dance training would be enough for her not to have time to prepare and execute a 1-week line dance event abroad. But somehow she manages to make all the arrangements with the hotel, the participants and the agency. What helps her a lot, is the fact that she worked as a tour guide in Turkey as a young woman. She loves Turkey and has had all her events taking place there so far. Over the years she has developed a standard with the Galeri Resort, which consists of many individual agreements, especially regarding the dance location in front of the hotel. You don’t see all these efforts and preparations when you are there for the first time. Dancing takes place on the tennis court. The court is laid out with white plastic plates. Other plates had not proven themselves in the past. Tables and umbrellas are set up, a bar, a small stage for the choreographers, a sound system and a table for the DJs. It would be perfect if this large area still had a full sunshade, but that is too much to ask. Therefore, line dancers have to enjoy many hours in the blazing sun. The little shade there is on the dance floor is very popular. Luckily there are quite some participants who don’t mind standing in the sun during the workshops. With temperatures of 30° – and on some days far above (global warming sends its regards) – I wondered what I can endure. We felt a little sorry for each other and fully understood, when a workshop was skipped or a dancer preferred to spend time on the beach or at the pool.
Next to Janni, Niels Poulsen is the second most important person. Namely, Niels is responsible for the weekly planning, the number and the level of the workshops. Janni and Niels have been a team since 2012. So Niels is always there. For the workshops, other choreographers are hired. This year Shane McKeever and José M. Belloque Vane became part of the team. Niels takes care of everything and everyone and keeps his young colleagues on track, but also joins in every bit of fun, because fun was, besides dancing, a very important point on these hot days at the Hotel Galeri Resort.
Part of Janni’s team always were from the first event onwards DJs Randi and Claus. A couple of weeks before the event Randi sent out emails to all participants to ask them for their dance requests. She always prepares a playlist for each evening. Randi does not regard herself as a DJ. Like Claus and Janni, she is a line dancer. She takes her laptop to the event and plays the music for the workshops and the free dancing during the entire 6 days. During this time her husband Claus supports her and the team. An unbelievable responsibility to be there every minute, when others can choose to sit out, be on the beach or at the pool or relaxing in one of the bars. Hard also for her to sit before her laptop, when the others are learning new dances. Before and after the event, Randi is the dance instructor for the United Liners group. There are 35 people in this group, including Janni, and they practice once a week. I think it’s awesome that she provides all participants with info about the workshops during the event and afterwards. She sends the dance descriptions as soon as they are available and the music.
As I said, without the good support from the hotel, the event would not be possible. Over the years, Janni has repeatedly tweaked individual points to create the best possible conditions for dancing and learning on the „center court“.
The white dance floor was laid out especially for us. If you stood in the sun, it was nice and smooth. In the shade, however, and in the evening, it was rather dull. I thought that was a pity. But it is certainly not easy to lay out a floor that always works under outdoor conditions. And as always, it is a question of wearing the best shoes.
First, a few notes on the food and drinks.
For the first time, I was in an all-inclusive hotel. I thought it was totally awesome. The huge selection of food and drinks overwhelmed me at first. Then I found it exciting to try as many different things as possible, for which the long buffets offered opportunities again and again. I quickly learned what tasted good to me. Today I still dream of the crispy little sesame rings that you could have for breakfast. 
Freshly grilled fish was a delight and so many kinds of salads. In the morning there was always a fruit variety between the workshops to go with the large selection of drinks. We had fresh strawberries 2 times. They were so delicious. Melons just taste so much better in the country they come from than they do at home. I couldn’t keep my hands off them. A personal highlight was the Turkish flat bread, which a nice Turkish lady baked at a special stand. I have the best memories of this kind of bread, which my Turkish neighbors in Incirlik gave me 30 years ago, straight from their outdoor oven. Many also made good use of the beverage bar. There was beer, wine and all sorts of cocktails. Tequila also played a big role one evening 😉
I almost forgot: we sometimes had the midnight soup, a good way to end the evening. Of course, the bar was also visited for a nightcap. I rediscovered Raki in the process.
Hotel room
I had a single room. It was small and located right above the restaurant. I had everything I needed in it, was only sometimes annoyed by the fact that music was playing early at 7am as entertainment for the first breakfast guests. It worked like an alarm clock for me. I didn’t see anybosy else’s room, but I think they were all okay.
Wellness in the hotel
Janni always makes up special rates with the spa area. Many of us took advantage of that and booked massages and other services. I bought a package that included the Turkish bath. I was overwhelmed by the Turkish bath. First being scrubbed down roughly and then oiled up super gently was my best bathing experience EVER. However, in other hotels such a package is considerably cheaper.
Workshops
The weekly schedule doesn’t look like a vacation, but this had to be expected. 3 choreographers don’t fly around the world for sun and beach, and I know similar scheduleds for example for Eurodance (taking place in Southport every 2 years) and line dancing events in the USA. 
Monday
- 3 workshops in the morning
- 2 workshops in the afternoon + recaps
Tuesday
- 3 workshops in the morning
- 1 workshop in the afternoon + recaps
Wednesday:
- 3 workshops in the morning
- No workshops in the afternoon
- Evening: Dinner in Alanya
Thursday:
- no workshops in the morning: time for own plans
- 1 workshop in the afternoon + recaps
Friday
- 3 workshops in the morning
- 1 workshop in the afternoon + recaps
Saturday: Recaps of all dances taught during the week
Below is the exact list of dances taught from Monday to Friday.
Some of the workshops were difficult for me. Many of the dances were classified as Advanced or High Intermediate. However, that didn’t seem to bother the majority of the dancers. They are used to it and expect it from these choreographers, who were there for them this September. Niels, Shane and José are competent teachers and a fun team. Their lessons were always clear, many recaps were done and in between and actually at any time there was a joke.
Niels was the happy victim of jokes, that Shane and José loved to play on him. Their favorite ones were little stories about the 3 of them sharing the hotel room. Whether they actually lived in one room, I don’t even know. 
For José, however, the stay did not start well at first. His suitcase got lost. Another passenger had taken his off the conveyor belt and so he was left with the other guy’s suitcase. He was very unhappy about it and then extremely happy when the suitcase was delivered on the day before his trip back home. He had fun explaining how many days an underwear can actually last. We found him adorable in the colorful dress, that someone gave to him. It was José, who could be seen at the pool doing a swimming contest with Emma and Henri, which he won, if I remember correctly.
In total 17 workshops were taught by Niels, Shane and José, listed here in the order they were given. Only 2 dances (Tequila Shots and Knock Off taught by Niels) were not written by one of the them.
- Crowded Mind, 48/2 Improver, easy Intermediate Waltz
by Shane McKeever & Niels Poulsen from September 2022
taught by Shane.
A very nice introduction to this week. 😊 - Dr. Phil, Samba from Sept 22, (step sheet not available)
by José M. B. Vane, taught by José# - Tequila Shots, 104/2 Phrased Advanced from Aug 2022.
by Florian Arbelot. He got an award for this dance at the „Worlds“ in Blackpool in August 2022
taught by Niels, who wanted to teach this fun dance. - The Scientist, Nightclub from Sept 22 (step sheet not available)
by Shane McKeever and Rebecca Lee; taught by Shane - Cyber Swagger, 88/1 Advanced from Aug 2022
by Fred Whitehouse & Shane McKeever, taught by Shane
This one was tough for me, but I totally love it! - 2-Step Turn, 96/2 Phrased Advanced from Sept 2022
by Shane McKeever, taught by ShaneI can’t believe how many videos you can find on YouTube, although phrased advanced with many steps, it is very popular. - Heaven On Your Lips, 32/2 Intermediate Nightclub from Sept 22
By Niels Poulsen, taught by Niels - Bright Eyes, 32/4 Low Intermediate from Sept 22
by José M. B. Vane, taught by José - You Have My Word, 32/2 Intermediate from Aug 22
by José M.B. Vane, Paul Steinborn and Emma Ruhnau
Taught by José
Please check the video. It is really nice. - Somewhere In The Night, 48/2 High Intermediate Nightclub from Sept 22, by Shane McKeever, José M. B. Vane and Niels Poulsen created for the event
- I Would For You, 48/2 Intermediate from Sept 22
by Niels Poulsen, taught by Niels
no step sheet on Copperknob and no video on YouTube - Oh My Cha, 64/2 Advanced from May 22
by Fred Whitehouse and Shane McKeever, taught by Shane - Knock Off, 52/2 Intermediate from July 22
by Bourdages, Ch. Durand, J. Lépine, St. Cormier, taught by Niels - Saturday Sunday What??!!
64/2 Low Advanced Cha Cha from Sept 22
By Niels Poulsen, taught by Niels - Please Dance With Me
16/2 Intermediate Rolling 8ct from Sept 21
By José M. B. Vane, taught by José - I’m Fabulous!, 32/2 High Intermediate from Sept 22
by Rebecca Lee, Debbie Rushton, JP Madge & Niels Poulsen
taught by Niels - Never Gonna Dance by José M. B. Vane, taught by José
no step sheet on Copperknob and no video on YouTube
Evening show and evening parties
Except for Wednesday, when we were bussed to Alanya for an evening of dining and going out, you could always attend a dance party on the „center court“. At first we danced, what was on Randi ‘s playlist for the respective evening. Of course, there were also the workshop dances for repetition and requests, t
hat could be made that evening. The most beautiful highlight of the week was Shane’s show on Monday evening. He let us enjoy his competition dance which he danced at Worlds in Blackpool in August. I was delighted by how light, dynamic and elegant his movements are. Please klick here, if you want the see the show taken at MIT (Madness in Taiwan in Dec 2022).
Summer, sun, pool and the Mediterranean Sea
There were some in the group who did not attend workshops at all and 
instead enjoyed the summer, sun and water at the beach or pool. I only went to the pool and the beach in between, for example on Thursday, when there was free time in the morning, or when I needed a break.
The pool was my favorite for a quick cool down. The water was quite cold and therefore very refreshing. On the beach, there were long rows of lounge chairs covered by sunscreens and further down by umbrellas. The blazing sun did not appeal to me. The beach itself and the sea I found disappointing. I love wide sandy beaches and to walk back and forth close to the water. That didn’t work at all on this beach because of the coarse pebbles. You sank in deep, which also made access to the sea pretty difficult. To make it easier for guests, each hotel has a long wooden walkway over the water, from which you can access the sea by leaders. The sea had 29°. I went swimming several times, but would have been more pleased if the water had been cooler. Well: you can’t have everything! I had come to dance, after all.
Conclusion
I really loved this week in the Galeri Resort: great group spirit, a nice location, where you could fully concentrate and enjoy dancing or taking a vacation. I had a lot of fun with my small German group and with dancers from Denmark at our table. Janni organizes her trips perfectly and makes sure that everyone is happy. Niels is a great caretaker and always available. Shane and José made sure everyone was in a good mood and laughing at all their B.S.
This event will of course take place again next year, Sept 23 – Oct 1, but in a different hotel. Please check the information on the flyer. The Grand Kolibri Resort is much closer to Alanya and offers even more spa. If you want to make a booking, please contact Janni. Her email address is on the flyer.
I especially thank Janni, and Niels, Randi & Claus for their hard work to make this event come along so easily.
