OLX 2018

Schedule and activities

 

Friday October 26th

19.00 Doors open at Oslo Konserthus
If you are not attending the taster you can enjoy a drink at the bar until the party starts.

19.30-20.30 Taster class at Oslo Concert Hall
Taster theme: Aerials.
NB! Bring a partner to this class, there is no rotation! There is a post in the event on Facebook where you can comment if you need a partner, so that you can find a person to attend with.
Teachers: Sergey Kovalov and Sofya Kapustina

20.30-02.30 Party at Oslo Concert Hall.
DJs and live music from amazing «Reiss på Skinner» .
Mix and Match prelims, show and remember to sign up for Saturday daytime events.

 

Saturday October 27th

Day-time activities

From 11.30-> OLX Treasure hunt
Sign up on the Friday evening party and we will create teams of people that together will solve puzzles leading your team to some famous, and perhaps some less famous, places in Oslo. Your team will be asked to do some jazzy missions at each post, and in order to complete the hunt you must have completed all missions. This activity can easily be combined with other daytime activities, so don’t be afraid to miss out on the two events listed below.

13.30-16.00 Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri (live music from 13.30)
New Orleans Workshop Jazzclub at Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri with «Undecided Jazzband». This event is open to everyone, and the venue and event caters mainly for listeners; however, they are happy to have us and will clear some space for OLX participants. But the space is limited so please be mindful of other guests, suitable for experienced dancers. Enjoy the music, have a dance, grab a drink or enjoy a light meal at this historic venue. Note: This is not an official OLX event, this is a public event but the organisers are happy to have us as we all share the same love for swing music and dancing! You are expected to buy something to drink and/or eat, and to give a small donation to the band/club.

16.30-19.00 Smelteverket (live music from 17.00)
Saturday Live with Oslo Django Club at Smelteverket. This is another very popular Saturday event in Oslo, and it is also open to the public. And because Smelteverket is Oslos longest bar it is also very long and narrow. The organisers are very happy to have us and they will make extra space for dancers this Saturday but space is limited so this is also more suitable for experienced dancers. There will be reserved tables for OLX participants, for listening, drinking and eating, in between the dances. Smelteverket have amazing comfort food, making this a great spot for some more dancing-fuel. Note: This is not an official OLX event, this is a public event but the organisers are happy to have us as we all share the same love for swing music and dancing! You are expected to buy something to drink and/or eat.

19.00 Doors open at Oslo Concert Hall
If you are not attending the taster you can enjoy a drink at the bar until the party starts.

19.30-20.30 Taster Class
Taster theme: Jazz up your Lindy
Teacher: Christopher Martinsen Mowe

20.30-02.30 Party at Oslo Concert Hall
DJs and live music from Shoeshine Boys and Skinners All-Stars.
Mix and Match finals.

Sunday October 28th

11.00-13.00 SALT Sauna
Jazzy Sauna Sessions at SALT. SALT Arena offers several saunas, the biggest of them Árdna. The sami meaning of the name Árdna is hidden treasures, making perfect sense as you can enjoy scenic views of the amazing Oslo Opera House in one of the largest saunas in the world. SALT generously offers all OLX pass holders a special 50% discount, discounted price is 100NOK and is payed at the venue. Should you need an extra cherry on top (as if this alone is not enough) there will of course be jazzy tunes in the sauna to set the OLX sunday mood. Note: bring shorts/bathing suit/bikini and a towel, there is changing areas for men and women, and locker bags are included in the entry fee. Changing areas are primitive, so no mirrors, hairdryers, showers etc to glamify yourself after.

12.00-13.00 Uranienborg Menighetshus
Amateur band practice! We want you to play or sing with us, no matter your level – all you need is enthusiasm and preferably an instrument – let’s see how it goes!

12.30-14.30 Vippa
Brunch Bounce at Vippa. Just steps away from SALT, centrally located at the Port of Oslo, you’ll find Vippa. Vippas social business model facilitates and integrates immigrants and young aspiring food entrepreneurs into the social fabric of Norwegian culture. The food is amazing, the views are amazing and they will roll out dancemats for us so we can enjoy ourselves and dance to the tunes from DJ Sean.

15.00-18.30 Uranienborg Menighetshus
Sunday tea-dance at Uranienborg Menighetshus. Enjoy the sunday afternoon with great music from our DJs and special performances by OLX Amature Almost-Stars band on a 180sqm dancefloor.

20.00 to late: Unofficial after-party at Blå
If you wanna keep the party going, head over to Blå and the weekly party/concert with Frank Znort Quartet. It’s not really a part of OLX, but it’s the place where you’ll meet lots of happy people who do not want to realise that Sunday is a rest day. As they say, “Frank Znort cannot be compared to anything else. It is a separate universe. This universe is very little predictable, but two things are for sure: they play every Sunday and it is always full (so get there early if you wanna make sure to get in). And, they fuck up your Mondays!”

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The music:

We care a lot about music, especially live music. Let us tell you about the bands and DJs that will play during OLX.

Friday night: “Reiss på Skinner”

David Skinner is our favorite pianist and band leader. He has dedicated himself to swing jazz and Harlem stride piano (the style of Fats Waller). He has released several solo albums and can very well entertain the dance floor with just his piano, but we like him even more with a band around him. For OLX, he has put together two different bands, “Reiss på Skinner” for Friday night, and “Skinner’s All Stars” for Saturday.

We believe that Georg Reiss is the greatest clarinet player in the country, at least within swing jazz, and we were really happy when David told us that Georg could play during OLX (before he travels with another band on Saturday). He has also released several albums in his name, and lectures at the Norwegian Academy of Music, but most importantly, he plays playful and smooth jazz tunes from his clarinet and saxophone.

Reiss and Skinner will be joined by Kristoffer Kompen (trombone), Stig Hvalryg (double base) and Marcus Lewin (drums). There are Wikipedia articles about each of these guys too, so please have a look if you would like to know more about them too.

Saturday night: Two bands!

Yes, twice as many bands means a lot of live music. And they’re good too.

Shoeshine Boys

These local cool cats twill be joining us on Saturday to play their swingin tunes! Their New Orleans dixiejazz, mixed with more traditional swingjazz and rhythm and blues have made them a very popular band in the Oslo swing dance scene. A few of the band members have also taken lindy hop classes, so they really know what they are playing for.

The band consists of  Lasse Lømo Ellingsen (trumpet), Erlend Barratt-Due Solum (clarinet), Andreas Rotevatn (trombone), Sondre Dyb Berg (piano), Anders Isachsen (banjo/guitar), Hans Erik Wagner (double base/vocals) and Knut Rand (drums).

We are sure you will know why we booked them as soon as you experience their joyful music and the great energy they bring to the stage!

Skinner’s All Stars

We’ve already introduced the pianist and band leader. On Saturday he comes with a quite different set-up. You should look forward to this too 🙂

Sunday: OLX Amateur Almost-Stars

We are a small group of happy unskilled amateur “musicians” (or rather dancers with a desire to play), and we really hope that you want to join us. This may be your chance to play for an audience for the first time or to try out a new instrument.

Our goal is to have fun, to forget everything about self-importance and to spread enthusiasm to the dance floor!

Would you like to play with us? Please join us for practice on Sunday, and play with us on stage during the tea dance! You do not need to be a prefect musician or even consider yourself particularly good, all we ask for is a good portion of enthusiasm and a love for music. We hope you could bring your own instrument, but if that’s too difficult, we might try to find one that you can borrow. If you let us know in advance (e. g. by writing to oslolindyexchange@gmail.com), we will let you know which songs (and in which key) we’re playing, maybe even sheet music, in case you want to practice at home.

 

Saturday day-time events

More live music!

For Saturday we want to offer you at take on a live jazz pub-crawl. We have currently confirmed that there will be live music in two of Oslo’s jazz joints, you can read more on our schedule, and both venues will clear some dance-space for us. Note that these events are not hosted by us, but we are generously invited to join in, so we advise that you pay respect to the other guests when dancing and also encourage you to support the host/venue by purchasing a drink and/or some food.

We can’t think of better ways to spend a Saturday afternoon than with a beer, some comfort food, live jazz and maybe even a dance or two.

Details more details to come, see the schedule.

 

DJs

To be announced.

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VENUES:

Click on map to open in Google maps:

 

MAIN EVENING VENUE FRIDAY AND SATURDAY:
OSLO CONCERT HALL
Munkedamsveien 14, 0220 Oslo
Google Maps

Since opening the doors in 1977 Oslo Concert Hall has been a leading arena in Norwegian culture and music life with  more than 7 million visitors experiencing concerts and events in almost every genre. From our favorite, the jazz genre, we can name both Sammy Davies Jr and Ella Fitzgerald among some of the world’s foremost artists and orchestras that has played here.

We will be hosting the Friday and Saturday night dances in Lille Sal, a beautiful room with Malaysian merbau wood floors that is basically begging to accomodate your dancing feet. Being built for concerts the room offers great sound and is conveniently close to both wardrobes and a fully licenenced bar. We will also offer some cake and snacks for purchase.

 

 

SATURDAY DAYTIME VENUES:

OSLO OPERA HOUSE
Kirsten Flagstads Plass 1, 0150 Oslo
Google maps

Meeting point for the OLX treasure hunt.

STORTORVET GJÆSTGIVERI
Grensen 1, 0159 Oslo
Google maps

Dating back to the 1700s this building has a rich history.  Two-storey timber-framed, tieled brick roofs from the early 1700s, it was finished about the same time as Vår Frelser’s church on the opposite side of the square. The building has been operating restaurant activities since the 1800s. In 1920 the law on the conservation of buildings came, and in 1927 Stortorvets Gjæstgiveri was consecrated. Every Saturday the restaurant on the ground floor hosts the New Orleans Workshop Jazzclub and during OLX we are invited to join in, the Undecided Jazzband will be playing and they will clear some space for us to dance! However the music is fast and the space might be slighly limited so please consider the other guests and the people who work there, don’t swing out unless you are in complete control of your surroundings.

 

SMELTEVERKET
Vulkan 5, 0182 Oslo
Google maps

The area and the building were originally a train track production plant and the interior of the restaurant reflects that. Today Smelteverket is a long, rustic venue that serves food, drinks and offers entertainment. Smelteverket is a gastropub with lively evenings serving food and drinks. Most of the beer is Norwegian while you also get a variety of foreign types.

Smelteverket is located right next to Akerselva, in the basement of Mathallen at Vulkan in Oslo. There are two entrances located on either side of the restaurant, one from the bridge and one from the inside of the Mathallen. We strongly suggest you combine a visit here with grabbing a bite to eat either at Smelteverket or at Mathallen food hall upstairs.

 

SUNDAY DAYTIME VENUES

VIPPA
Akershusstranda 25, 0150 Oslo
Google Maps

On the edge of the land facing the Oslo fjord, Vippa is welcoming to visitors and food enthusiasts to experience delicious food in an environment charged with great energy! Vippa is a social and business model to facilitate and integrate immigrants and young aspiring food entrepreneurs into the social fabric of Norwegian culture. Vippa, strategically located in the Port of Oslo, is the host of multiple food stands offering sustainable and diverse food to Oslo’s increasingly bustling foodscape. Vippa’s vision is to bring together cultures through cuisines.

 

SALT
Langkaia 1, 0150 Oslo
Google Maps

SALT is a nomadic art project with pyramidal constructions called “hesjer”, which are based on traditional coastal construction methods. Norway has one of the world’s longest coastlines and an ancient coastal culture where the people have fished in agreement with nature. The fishermen set up fishracks to dry the fish in the wind. Dried fish did not only give people nourishment, but also became an export article that has been significant in regards to the construction of Norway.

The pyramidal structures have been developed in collaboration with architect Sami Rintala. Árdna, The Arctic Pyramid, Langhuset and Naustet all make SALT an unique place for experiences and reflection where a diversity of people can be gathered to experience art and discuss today’s major challenges. The sea is crucial for the future of the planet. How can we ensure a sustainable sea for future generations? What can we learn from the coastal people’s ability to live with and out of nature?

SALT was first erected on Sandhornøya in Nordland in 2014. The project has since visited Bergen and is now in Oslo until 2018 when the journey continues to the north. Thus, SALT Oslo becomes a two-year festival. The program includes concerts, lectures, exhibitions, debates and family events. Throughout all seasons visitors can relax in the sauna, quench their thirst and eat tasty food from the sea.

 

URANIENBORG MENINGHETSHUS
Daas gate 19, 0259 Oslo
Google maps

This church house associated with Uranienborg Church is used for various events. We will host our Sunday tea dance in the beautiful 180 square meter hall with a great dance floor. Come and enjoy music from out DJs and the amazing OLX Amateurs Almost All-Star band. Light snacks, cakes, coffee and tea available for purchase, and there is also a fantastic (and free) home-brewed surprise! You are allowed to bring your own food and drinks here.