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Awa Odori (阿波踊り)

I made it for the 3pm show at the Awa Odori Kaikan Hall in Tokushima!

There’s 4 performances per day, everyday. (11am, 2pm, 3pm, and 4pm) I noticed I was surrounded by kind and cheery elderly people in the audience, I felt somewhat out of place for a few minutes but did a good job blending in! The audience was made up of a tour group for the retired run by a domestic company, most people in the crowd were from Kobe. Everyone there were so bubbly and happy.

I had so much fun! Especially when they invited everyone to learn the dance and join in…I hope I didn’t butcher the elegant dancing with my stiff robotic joints…

I love the uniforms they wear, it’s so vibrant and pretty!

You get to go through a short history lesson to learn about how the Awa Odori changed over time…For example, the movements became faster accompanied with more upbeat music. The female dancers had to raise their arms higher to make them appear more beautiful. The final dance was epic, I must say I enjoyed all the dances but the last one was the best!!

Overall…. It was a wonderful experience and I think I nearly fell in love with one of the male dancers because his dancing was too cool!!

—Tofu