If you cannot make the August festival, this purpose-built hall at the foot of Mount Bizan is the next best thing. The fifth-floor museum explains the 400-year history of Awa Odori with costumes, instruments, and video of past performances. The first-floor stage hosts daily live shows by professional troupes, with an evening performance by one of the rotating amateur ren (dance groups) at 20:00.
Audience participation is built in — at the end of each show, dancers pull volunteers out of their seats to try the basic steps. The same building houses the Mount Bizan ropeway and a Tokushima-themed gift shop on the ground floor.