eTalent Guidelines

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KCS eTalent is a signature initiative of the Kerala Cultural Society of Metropolitan Washington, created to:

✨ Promote creativity within the community
✨ Encourage performers of all ages
✨ Provide a virtual platform judged by field experts
✨ Celebrate culture, talent, and artistic expression

Participants submit their performances online, and entries are evaluated by experienced judges — making this a professional, exciting, and rewarding experience. This much-loved virtual talent competition is exclusively for residents of DC, Maryland, and Virginia (DMV area) — giving you the perfect opportunity to showcase your skills, creativity, and passion to a wide audience.

Whether you sing, dance, act, speak, or create — there’s a stage waiting just for you.

 

General Rules and Guidelines

Registration Guidelines:
  • All participants must register through our website: www.kcsmw.org/etalent.
  • Participants must be residing in the MD/VA/DC metro area.
  • Registrations open on February 1st, 2026, and closes on March 15th, 2026.
  • Pricing (until March 15th, 2026):
    • Members: $10 per item
    • Non-members: $12 per item
  • After March 15, 2026, registrations will be accepted until the respective submission deadlines for each item. However, a late registration fee will apply:
    • Members: $12 per item
    • Non-members: $15 per item
  • Special Pricing for 4 or More Items (until March 15th, 2026):
    • Members: $35 total
    • Non-members: $40 total
  • Late registrations (after March 15th, 2026): Special pricing for 4 or more items will not be available. The fee will be charged per item at the late registration rate.
  • All registrations and competition entries must be submitted by midnight on their respective deadlines.
  • Date for submitting entries will be on dates as indicated below. Submissions received after their respective deadlines will not be considered.
  • For duet and group events, each participant must register individually by paying the respective registration fee. These events will be considered as a single entry for awards and calculations.
  • The registration fee must be submitted online along with the registration form.
  • Registration fees are non-refundable, and registrations are incomplete without payment.
  • KCSMW reserves the right to terminate or extend the contest at any time.
  • The eTalent Registration Form can be accessed here
  • Competitions will be conducted in three event sections and three age categories
  • There will be three sections for competitive items. Section A, Section B and Section C. Please refer to the event specific guidelines for each category.
  • Last Dates for submitting entries for each section is:
    • March  22 – Section A 
    • April 05  – Section B 
    • April 12  – Section C 
  • All events are open to all genders . Group events can be performed either jointly or separately by genders.
  • A participant cannot compete more than once in the same item.
  • If participants in a duet or group item belong to different age groups within the competition, the entry will be judged in the age group of the oldest participant.
  • Although the eTalent competition is being conducted virtually from your home, please approach your performance with utmost seriousness, ensuring you wear appropriate and professional attire and maintain proper decorum.
  • KCSMW reserves the right to add or modify categories at any time.

 

  • Category Names

    Group by Age

    Junior

    Under 11 Years as of January 1st 2026 (born on or after January 1st 2015)

    Senior

    11 to 18 Years as of January 1st 2026 (born between January 1st 2008 and December 31st 2014)

    Adults

    Above 18 Years as of January 1st 2026 (born before January 1st 2008)

                    

  • All participants who submit the entries should be registered for that event. Any submissions received without registration will not be considered for judging.
  • Registration number must be visibly displayed in the video either on the background/wall or pinned onto the participant’s clothing. DO NOT ADD THE REGISTRATION NUMBER THROUGH GRAPHICS . For duet events, at least one participant’s registration number should be displayed.
  • Record your videos using a smartphone, camera, or camcorder.
  • All videos should be recorded in landscape mode.
  • Your video should not have anyone else other than the contestant(s).
  • Contestants should be visible throughout the video for duet and group items.
  • Your video should be taken just for this competition. YouTube video upload date should be after the commencement date of each contest announced by KCSMW.
  • Videos submitted without the registration number displayed WILL BE REJECTED.
     Note – For Movie scene Photo competition it is not required to display the registration number.
  • Edited videos, with the exception of TikTok/Youtube Shorts, are not allowed and will be rejected.
  • You need to upload your video to YouTube and mark it as “unlisted”. Do not make it “public” until the eTalent Season 8 Superstar award ceremony. Provide the YouTube video link when you submit the entries.
  • Your YouTube video should be titled  “KCSMW eTalent Season 8 – item name -Your registration number(s)”
  • Once the form is submitted, participants cannot change their YouTube video link.
  • KCSMW will not be responsible for any copyright violation in any of your
    YouTube videos.
  • Your eTalent registration number along with your YouTube link must be received by midnight of the deadline. Any entries received after the deadline will not be considered.
  • eTalent Event submission form can be accessed here 

 

  • Winners will be decided based on the marks provided by a panel of competent judges selected by the KCSMW eTalent team, and their decisions will be final.
  • Even if there is only one entry for an item, the competition will be conducted, and prizes will be awarded. If there are fewer than 3 entries for an item, participants can win first, second, or honorary prizes based on judges’ scores. Honorary prizes are not awarded any points and therefore WILL NOT count towards eTalent Superstar.
  • Winners will be announced via KCSMW website and other electronic media. Awards will be distributed at a special event of KCSMW.
  • Winning videos will be published on KCSMW website and other electronic media only after the eTalent Season 8 Superstar award ceremony.
  • KCSMW eTalent team judgments are final.

 

  • There will be a Special Grand Prize Winner “eTalent Superstar” (called ETS hereafter)
  • For the Junior and Senior Category (all categories below 18yrs), there will be an ETS First prize, second prize and third prize
  • Adult category will only have ETS first prize (Star Adult Award)
  • ETS must win at least one first, second, or third prize from any two of the three sections mentioned above. The winner with the overall highest points will win the ETS. They must score more points than any other contestants who participated in all items. The points from duet/group items also will be considered in the determination of ETS. If there is a tie, the person with the maximum number of first prizes will be declared as the winner. The second Tie break will be based on the number of second prizes. If there is no winner still, the person with the highest points from all the single items will be considered for the title.
  • If such a person does not exist, the total points earned will be considered for determining the ETS.
  • The first, second, and third prize winners will be awarded 5, 3, and 1 point respectively for determining ETS. Honorary prize winners will not be awarded any points.

 

Visit the individual event pages shown below for further details on specific events.

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