A Kerala classical dance-drama performed by a whole team enacting one scene together, judged on costume, enactment and classical knowledge out of 100.
Kathakali – Group is the team version of the classical Kerala dance-drama on the Kerala school Kalolsavam syllabus. Instead of one performer carrying a whole character, a team of performers enacts a single scene together, drawing on the same codified costume and make-up (vesham), hand gestures (mudras), facial expression and movement that define the form. It is catalogued separately from the solo Kathakali item, which scores one performer, and from Kathakali Sangeetham, which scores only the vocal music.
A round runs team by team inside a 30-minute window with the warning bell at the 29-minute mark. The entry is scored out of 100 against three criteria: make-up and costume (Aaharyam) at 30 marks, enactment (Cholliyattam) at 40 marks, and classical knowledge at 30 marks. Enactment carries the largest share, so the panel reads first how clearly the scene’s story passes from one performer to the next, and only then the individual costumes.
An entry is a whole team in character costumes performing one scene the team has chosen and rehearsed as an ensemble. Because every performer is on stage at once, the scene only works if their gestures, timing and character relationships agree with one another. A strong lead cannot carry the rest of the team through a half-hour round on his or her own.
Organisers keep a team slot for this form because Kathakali is built on the interplay between characters, and a group item tests that interplay directly. It also gives a school a way into the tradition that does not depend on one student mastering the full solo repertoire.
Where Kathakali – Group is run
It runs as a Team On Stage item on the Kerala school Kalolsavam syllabus, and it appears in both the arts-festival and all-sections versions of that template, at the two oldest school-class categories, III and IV. No other real template in the dataset carries this group version, so outside the Kerala school syllabus it is not a common item.
- Kerala, India
Key facts
- Always a Team competition, with no individual version on this syllabus
- Listed as a mixed-gender (Both) item, so boys and girls can take part in the same team
- Offered at Category III and Category IV only, the two oldest school-class bands
- 30-minute time limit per team, with the warning bell at the 29-minute mark
- Scored out of 100 across three criteria: costume 30 marks, enactment 40 marks, classical knowledge 30 marks
- Language is left open on the syllabus (Any/NA), so the team works in the language of its chosen scene
On eTalenter, Kathakali – Group is filed under On Stage and typically scored with Marks. It appears in 2 ready-made event templates — each one can adjust its time limit, age-group assignment and scoring setup independently.
Across the templates that use it, Kathakali – Group is most often entered as an Team competition, typically scored out of 100, commonly time-limited to around 30 minutes where a limit is set.
What judges look at in Kathakali – Group
What a Kathakali – Group panel is actually weighing up, and where the marks are usually won or lost:
- Enactment (Cholliyattam) – 40 marks: whether the scene’s story stays clear as it passes between the performers through gesture and expression, so the audience can follow who is speaking and what is happening
- Make-up and costume (Aaharyam) – 30 marks: each performer’s vesham matching the character they play, and the whole team’s costumes reading as one coherent scene rather than a set of separate outfits
- Classical knowledge – 30 marks: correct use of the form’s own vocabulary across the whole team, not only from the lead performer
- Ensemble consistency – where a team loses ground in practice: a performer whose mudras or timing drift from the rest of the scene weakens the enactment mark for the whole entry
- Fit inside the window – a scene that runs past the 29-minute warning bell leaves the final moments rushed, which shows in the enactment of its closing section
Treat these as the judging focus, not a fixed rubric: publish your own weighted criteria for Kathakali – Group under Scoring Setup, or start from the full classical dance judging criteria guide.
How to prepare for Kathakali – Group
How entrants and their teachers usually get Kathakali – Group right on the day:
- Choose one scene that the whole team can perform cleanly inside 29 minutes, with an ending the team can land on time
- Assign each performer’s character and vesham early, and rehearse in full costume so make-up and costume are settled well before the day
- Rehearse the scene as a complete team with the hand-offs between characters marked out, since enactment is scored on how the story moves from one performer to the next
- Pick a lead who can hold the scene’s emotional centre, but drill the supporting roles to the same standard of mudra and facial expression
- Agree the accompaniment and its cues in advance, so entrances and exits line up with the music or percussion
- Run the whole scene against a timer at least twice, once at full speed and once with the 29-minute warning in mind
Ready-made event templates that include Kathakali – Group
Open any template to preview it in eTalenter and install it as a live, editable event.
| Template | Category | Score label | Competitions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kerala Kalolsavam – All Sections | On Stage | Marks | 2 |
| Kerala School Kalolsavam | On Stage | Marks | 2 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Kathakali – Group judged individually or as a team?
Across eTalenter’s templates it’s most often run as an Team entry, though an organiser can set either participation type when assigning the item to an age group.
Is Kathakali – Group the same as the solo Kathakali item?
No. The solo Kathakali item scores one performer across the dance-drama, with a 15-minute window. Kathakali – Group is a separate Team item with its own 30-minute window, where the whole team performs one scene together.
Can boys and girls perform together in this item?
Yes. On the Kerala school syllabus it is listed as a mixed-gender (Both) item, so one team can include boys and girls. The solo Kathakali item, by contrast, is split into separate Male and Female competitions.
Is the team marked as a whole or are individual performers scored?
The team is marked as one entry out of 100 across the three criteria, not as separate scores for each performer.
Which categories can enter a Kathakali group team?
On the Kerala school syllabus, only Category III and Category IV, the two oldest school-class bands. It is not offered at Category I or II.
Want the full judging picture? Read the full classical dance judging criteria guide, or browse every on stage competition item.
Try Kathakali – Group in eTalenter
See every ready-made template that runs Kathakali – Group, and install one as a live event — age groups, rules and scoring included.
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