Nadodi Nrutham (folk dance) is a solo on-stage item at the Kerala school kalolsavam, judged on a verified five-criterion, 100-mark scheme that is different from the weighting used for the festival’s classical solo dances. This guide gives the exact criteria, a printable judgement sheet, the age-group and gender rules as published, and how to run it fairly on eTalenter.
What is Nadodi Nrutham?
Nadodi Nrutham is an Individual, On Stage competition item. Both genders compete together at Category I and Category II; from Category III onward boys and girls are scored as separate entries. Every category carries a 5-minute time limit (warning bell at 4 minutes) and a maximum score of 100. It sits in the festival’s solo folk/traditional-dance group alongside items like Parichamuttu and Poorakkali, but it has its own dedicated judging scheme rather than sharing a generic “folk dance” rubric.
The verified judging criteria (100 marks)
The scheme below is cited directly from the festival’s own template data — nothing here is inferred or invented:
| Criterion | Marks |
|---|---|
| Physical elegance (Aakarasushama) | 20 |
| Costume (Vesham) | 20 |
| Expression (Bhavaprakatanam) | 20 |
| Rhythm (Thalam) | 20 |
| Grace of movement | 20 |
| Total | 100 |
How it differs from the classical solo dances
Readers searching for folk-dance judging criteria often land on pages built for classical items (Bharathanatyam, Mohiniyattam, Kerala Nadanam), so it is worth being explicit: those items carry a dedicated “mudra completeness” or “classical knowledge” head and a 15/20-mark costume line; Nadodi Nrutham’s scheme has no mudra-accuracy criterion at all — it rewards overall elegance, costume, expression, rhythm and grace of movement in five equal shares. It is also judged as a solo item, not a group folk-dance item, so it is distinct from any team folk-dance competition run at the same festival.
Printable judgement sheet
Hand judges a sheet with these five columns, chest number down the left, and a totals row:
| Chest No. | Elegance /20 | Costume /20 | Expression /20 | Rhythm /20 | Grace /20 | Total /100 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Age groups, gender and time rules
| Category | Gender | Time limit | Max score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category I & II | Both (mixed) | 5 min (4 min warning) | 100 |
| Category III & IV | Male & Female scored separately | 5 min (4 min warning) | 100 |
Deductions typically apply for overrunning the 5-minute limit, missing costume, or using props/music not declared at registration — publish these rules alongside the criteria before entries open so every unit knows the standard in advance.
Running Nadodi Nrutham on eTalenter
Set Nadodi Nrutham up as an Individual competition item under Category I-IV, with Both/Male/Female participant rules matching the table above, a 5-minute time limit with a 4-minute warning, and the five-criterion, 100-mark scheme entered once in the judging panel. Judges score each of the five heads independently on their own device; eTalenter totals, ranks and publishes results the moment all judges submit, with the printable sheet above available as a backup for paper scoring. Open a live demo and log in as a judge to see the scoring screen, or as a coordinator to see how the item, age groups and criteria are configured.
FAQ
What are the judging criteria for Nadodi Nrutham?
Five criteria worth 20 marks each: physical elegance, costume, expression, rhythm, and grace of movement, totalling 100.
Is it an individual or group item?
Individual — a solo performer, not a team.
Is it open to both boys and girls?
At Category I and II, boys and girls compete together as one group. From Category III, boys and girls are scored as separate entries.
What is the time limit?
5 minutes, with a warning bell at 4 minutes, across every category.
How is it different from the classical solo dances?
Classical items like Bharathanatyam or Kerala Nadanam score a dedicated mudra/technique criterion and a separate costume head; Nadodi Nrutham has no classical-technique criterion and weighs elegance, costume, expression, rhythm and grace equally.
Need help setting up Nadodi Nrutham or any other competition item on eTalenter? Message us on WhatsApp or email support@etalenter.com — we help with the software, not with entries.
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