阿波踊りにおけるコンクールの効果 : 全日本大学阿波踊り選手権大会と学生連について

Awa Dance in the postwar period had been refined due to the contents held for several years. The contest held for several years in the postwar period contributed to the refinement of Awa Dance. They also contributed to the birth of "reputed troops(yumei ren)" which belonged to the association. Many troops has been formed with these troops as the top of hierarchy. Seeking ideal dancing, the reputed troops practiced night and day, contrived ways to find better formation and movement and established the dance to show. on the other hand, students' groups had been seen as relieving stress and enjoying sense of solidarity instead of showing their skills of dancing.
In 1987，the first“All-Nippon Intercollegiate Championship contents of Awa Dance" was held and it had been continued for 11 years since then. This study deals with the background or prehistory of this contest and reasons why it ceased to exist.
The primary purpose for holding the intercollegiate contest was to enhance Awa Dance culture. But it also functioned as a measure against the groups of students who disturbed the spectators with too much excessive energy. One newspaper article showed this by quoting the words of a member of executive committee stating: it was organized to improve the image of students' groups which were frowned upon since many of the students danced under the influence of alcohol.
The reasons why the contest stopped 12 years after its start are: 1) it achieved the primary aim，2) it became stereotyped in a rut，and 3) due to budget curtailment. In place of the collegiate contest,“Intercollegiate Awa Dance Festival" was newly organized by the students themselves. In order to investigate how the dances of the students' groups were performed，the dances of threes student groups which participated in the 2002 festival were videotaped and their formations and movements were analyzed.
As a result, their dances on the whole are found to be in no way inferior to those of the reputed troops. The roles played by these contests and festivals are noted to be very significant to raise the level of the students' dances as one newspaper article says，“They all performed serious-minded student dance."