Join us for our first ever:

"Crete on the Beat" - A Dance Retreat Treat! (Oct 4-13, 2024)
        Ten fun-filled days of workshops (balboa & swing), music, dancing, dining, exploring, socializing, and numerous rest & relaxation opportunities with Christine von Scheidt, Ari Levitt, and a fabulous group of dancers!  Come for as long as you like.  The first workshop day will be on Monday, Oct 7.  The last workshop day is Oct 12.  The rest of the time, come and play!

COME, RELAX, AND ENJOY... 

• Ten wonderful days of interactive dance workshops, wellness, rest, & relaxation with Christine von Scheidt, Ari Levitt, and company, including several very unique sessions on partnering & connection, musicality & play, plus fun new steps & combinations
• Evenings of Group Dining, Music & Dance in town when the opportunity presents itself.
• Friday Night Welcome Wine & Cheese Social (at Peter and Ursula's Place) - the perfect opportunity to settle in after you arrive and get to know everyone in the group
• 10+ hours of world-class dance instruction in six separate workshops (or more) - the perfect opportunity to fine tune your dance skills and learn some wonderful new moves from our fabulous international instructor team.  The classes will focus primarily on Balboa, but may also include elements of swing and other American-based dances (Blues, Lindy, Laminu, etc)
• Numerous rest, relaxation, and fitness opportunities, including morning walks, stretching, swimming, snorkeling, oceanside activities, hikes, exploring, dining out, group activities, and more!  In addition to your dance shoes, be sure to bring closed shoes suitable for easy hiking.

NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE ARE:

• Your Flight/Transportation to & from Crete
• Your Room. You must book your room separately.  We have reserved rooms in several well-situated local villas at very affordable prices, all within walking distance of the main house.   Pricing will vary.  See the Room Reservation section below.
• Your Meals.  Crete has many wonderful and very affordable restaurant options for casual to fine dining.  Should you choose to cook at home, all of the villas are equipped with fully-stocked kitchens for preparing your own meals as well. 
• Car Rental.  You will definitely want to have a car available for transportation and exploring the island.  Cars are very cheap and can be rented for the week from the airport when you arrive. If you are interested in sharing a car rental (or room in the villa) with another participant, please use this GOOGLE SPREADSHEET to communicate your interest to others in the group.
• Beach Toys (mask & snorkel, boogie boards, etc)

RAISE THE LEVEL OF YOUR DANCING ACROSS THE BOARD!

• The theme for the week will be "Innovate & Blend your Balboa", which means we will use a variety of different styles to emphasize lead and follow techniques that you can incorporate into your Balboa.  It’s a great opportunity to not only dig deeper into some fun new steps and combinations, but also to learn how to blend elements of one swing dance style into another and to realize that it’s all the same language of body movement and communication.

SHARED HOUSING & CARPOOLS:
If you are looking for a roommate or for another person or couple to share a car rental, please use the this GOOGLE SPREADSHEET to communicate with other folks from the retreat .

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE CLASSES:

The theme for the week will be "Innovate & Blend your Balboa", which means we will use a variety of different styles to emphasize lead and follow techniques that you can incorporate into your Balboa.  It’s a great opportunity to not only dig deeper into some fun new steps and combinations, but also to learn how to blend elements of one swing dance style into another and to realize that it’s all the same language of body movement and communication.

LEVEL OF DANCE:

All classes will start with a quick review of the basic concepts and steps before diving more deeply into the material.  The expectation is that participants have at least 3 years experience with Balboa and social-partner dancing. Classes will be tailored to the int/adv level dancers.

COST (in Euros, per person):   €299                                

Spaces are limited to 8 leads and 8 follows, so register early!  

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Pricing includes: 

• 10+ hours of world-class Balboa dance instruction with Christine von Sheidt & Ari Levitt
• Meet & Greet Social
• Numerous Rest & Relaxation Activities
• Numerous Opportunities for Adventure & Exploration

Not included: 

• Flight/Transportation to & from Crete
• Room. You must reserve your room separately.  We have booked several villas within walking distance of the main house.  Please refer to the price sheet in the Room Reservations section
• Meals
• Car Rental  
• Beach toys/equipment/snorkel & mask

HOME BASE LOCATION:  The home base for the workshops will be Peter & Ursula's home at 73002 Pontikiana, Crete.

AIRPORTS:  

1)  Chania International Airport Ioannis Daskalogiannis is about a 45 minute drive

2) Heraklion International Airport (HER) is about a 2.25 hour drive 

CAR RENTAL:  

You will definitely want to rent a car to get around the island.  This is best done at the airport.  Monza Rent-a-Car also has cars available for €55 for the week.  Details are HERE

                               Home Base (and places to stay within walking distance)

The HOME BASE for the workshops will be at Peter & Ursula's home located at 73002 Pontikiana, Crete.  Write to Peter at pf@columbus-dt.de if you have any questions or concerns about the dance space.  

You will need to arrange your own housing on island, and there are numerous options available.  Here are a few that our host has recommended:  

                     Near Peter's (<10 min walking distance):  

1)  Villa Melva 

This is Peter & Ursula's neighbor, 50 meters away. They just finished renovation. Marvelous view, nice garden, no pool, 2 bedrooms (1 doublebed / 2 singlebeds), 1 bathroom.

Price for 1 week: € 813

Contact: Elia Koumi mail: melvaharvata@gmail.com

     CLICK HERE for details

                            Village of Pontikiana (10 min walking distance):  

1)  Villa Helidoni  (2 bed rooms; 1 double bed + 2 single beds which can be placed next to each other; no Pool).  COST:  € 85 + € 10 climate tax/day, sharing with 2 = 48€ per person or sharing with 4 = only 24€ per person per night

Price for 1 week: € 641

Contact: Manolis mail: info@villa-helidoni.gr     phone: 0030 6976000471

     CLICK HERE for details:

2)  Georgias Haus, 1 bed room, no Pool. only via AirBnB: 

1 double bed, € 70 + € 10 /day+ final cleaning € 35. ABout ~ € 42 per person per night

     CLICK HERE for details

3) Garden Villas Lali und Baxes (adjoining houses which share a garden and pool.  Lali has 1 bedroom, Baxes has 3 bedrooms). 

     CLICK HERE for details

                  Village of Gerani (15 min drive)

1)  Pardalakis Studios, Plataniás, Khania, Greece (15 room, large swimming pool, parking, tea & coffee, snacks). https://pardalakis-studios-hotel-gerani.hotel-mix.de 

      The owners are two Greek brothers with their German wives who run the facility. Its a big area with private parking and a very big pool. 

     They offer simple accomodation at very reasonable prices:

               =>  3 or 4 two-bed studio                                                       € 40

               =>  3 or 4 three-bed studio (a little bit more space)       € 46

               =>  1 four-bed apt. (more space)                                         € 57

               =>  The windmill (we lived there for 1 month)                    € 57

     Advantages here: Near beaches, tavernas and amenities, 13 minutes by car to our house, several participants can stay together and have their own studios. Also you can get their coffee and drinks and snacks.  

     Contact: Franziska Pardalakis mail: pardalakis_family_gerani@yahoo.com

            CLICK HERE for details

2)  Villa Balos, 2 bedrooms. The cost would be € 200 per day (for 4 people).  Close to the beach

Contact: Michael Semmler mail: semmler.micha@gmail.com

     CLICK HERE for photos

     CLICK HERE for AirBnB details

                                      Other Locations  

There are also Holiday houses in Ano Vouves and Darmarochori, both 5-10 Minutes away by car. 

If you are looking for a roommate or for another person or couple to share a car rental, please use the this GOOGLE SPREADSHEET to communicate with other participants from the retreat.

1)  You will receive a full refund minus a €35 Euro cancellation fee if cancelled greater than 8 weeks prior to the event.  You will receive a 50% refund if cancelled 4-8 weeks prior to the event.  Within 4 weeks of the event, all purchases will be final.  If you have purchased travel insurance and you are cancelling due to your own health or to the health of a family member, your travel insurance should be able to reimburse you for the cost (check your insurance policy for details).

2)  PLEASE NOTE:  If you need to cancel for any reason, your ticket is fully transferable contingent upon confirmation and approval from the organizers and on the lead/follow balance of the event.  The person you are transferring the ticket to will need to register separately online for the trip and let us know on that form that this is a transferred ticket (not purchased). 

3)  PLEASE NOTE:  If the event has to be cancelled by the organizers for any reason, the organizers will first attempt to reschedule.  If you are unable to attend the new dates, a full refund will be given, minus any credit card or PayPal fees accrued. 

4)  PLEASE NOTE:  It is the responsibility of the trip attendee to reach out in the event of a cancellation and make their payments on time. We reserve the right to hold payments according to the cancellation policy above to pay our vendors to make this trip happen. By making a deposit you agree to the above terms of Service and Cancellation Policy.

5) By making a payment you agree to trip's terms of service and cancellation policy.

Liability:

We exercise care in the selection of reputable travel service providers but we are not ourselves a provider of travel services and have no control over, or liability for, the services provided by third parties.  

In no event do we accept any liability in contract, tort or otherwise, for any injury, damage, loss, delay, additional expense or inconvenience caused directly or indirectly by the acts, omissions or default, whether negligent or otherwise, of third party providers over whom we have no direct control, force majeure or any other event which is beyond our control or which is not preventable by reasonable diligence on our part. We also do not accept any liability in contract, tort or otherwise, for consequential loss (meaning indirect loss, loss of revenue, loss of reputation, loss of profits, loss of actual or anticipated savings, lost opportunities, including opportunities to enter into arrangements with third parties or loss or damage in connection with claims against you by third parties) howsoever caused in connection with your booking.

Risks of Travel and Release: 

We assume no responsibility for and shall not be liable for the acts or omissions on the part of any other party not under our control or any acts of God, unsafe conditions, terrorism, health hazards including pandemics, illness, weather hazards, or the suitability for a disabled person of any portion of any trip. We have no special knowledge of dangers during travel or at destinations. For information related to such dangers, we recommend going to the State Department travel website at travel.state.gov, click on "Find International travel Information" then click on "Country Information", and fill in the name of the destination country. 

For medical and health information, we recommend going to the Centers for Disease Control website at cdc.gov/travel, then click on "Destinations" and scroll to the name of the destination country. It is your personal decision to travel, and you are doing so with full knowledge of current travel recommendations and travel restrictions with regards to the risks of COVID-19. YOU HEREBY EXPRESSLY ASSUME ALL OF THESE RISKS AND DANGERS, AND YOU HEREBY EXPRESSLY AGREE TO FOREVER RELEASE, DISCHARGE AND HOLD US, AND OUR AGENTS, EMPLOYEES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, ASSOCIATES, AFFILIATED COMPANIES, GUIDES, GROUP LEADERS, AND SUBCONTRACTORS HARMLESS AGAINST ANY AND ALL LIABILITY, ACTIONS, CAUSES OF ACTIONS, SUITS, CLAIMS, AND DEMANDS OF ANY AND EVERY KIND AND NATURE WHATSOEVER WHICH YOU NOW HAVE OR WHICH MAY HEREAFTER ARISE OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE RISKS AND Dangers.