Last week improvisations filled the air at another international edition of JazzCamp for Girls when the project was held at New Town School for the second time in Kolkata in India. Indian educator Kahini Panjabi joined Danish educators Ida Brinch Nielsen and Maria Dybbroe to give young girls a week filled with musical curiosity and community, and the result was a great success.

The camp in Kolkata was organised by MetaArts and Kolkata Jazz Festival in collaboration with the Danish Cultural Institute and Jazz Denmark and with support from the Gangsted Foundation. As a conclusion to the camp, the two Danish educators performed on the main stage of the Kolkata Jazz Festival together with Indian musicians Amyt Datta, Naimak Nag Chowdbury and Jivraj Singh.

A global collaboration to bring girls to the stage

Today JazzCamp for Girls is part of a large network of countries across Europe, Asia and North America. The goal is to increase girls’ interest in playing jazz. The camp gives girls between 10 and 15 years old a safe space where they can explore improvisation, composition and ensemble playing on their own terms.

Since 2014 the project has given thousands of Danish girls the chance to discover the creative universe of jazz. In 2019 England took up the torch and from 2022 the project expanded further when Finland, Sweden and Poland joined. The following year Turkey and Canada became part of the network and in 2024 Jazz Denmark welcomed both Belgium and India. In 2025 the expansion continued when Germany hosted its first camp as part of jazzahead!

A Danish developed concept with international impact

JazzCamp for Girls was developed by Jazz Denmark and Copenhagen Jazz Festival in 2014 to give girls a safe and playful musical environment with space to experiment and strengthen their courage to improvise. The concept is adapted to different music education contexts but always maintains the same focus: to strengthen girls’ participation and representation in jazz music.

The top photo shows tutors Maria Dybbroe and Kahini Panjabi in Kolkata, India. Photo: Bente Wolff