or Para-Para is a synchronized dance that originated in Japan. Unlike most types of club and rave dancing, Para Para features specific synchronized movements for each song, much like line dancing. Para Para has been around since the early 1980s, when European countries started selling Italo disco and Eurodisco and, in the mid-to late 1970s, new wave and synthpop music in Japan. However, the dance did not achieve much popularity outside Japan until the late 1990s.
Para Para is strongly associated with Eurobeat. Eurobeat artist Dave Rodgers has described Para Para as the only way to dance to Eurobeat, which is usually "so fast."The World of Italo Disco Interviews, Interview with Aleph
Description Para Para dancing consists of mostly upper body movements in synchronization with a four-on-the-floor rhythm. Dancing involves choreographed motions with the arms and hands while stepping to the right and left, similar to the movements of traditional festival dances such as Bon Odori and cheering squads called Ōendan. Para Para dancing is generally done to Eurobeat and Eurodance music, with each track having its own dance routine. Para Para involves very little lower body movement, with the exception of moving one's hips, stepping in place, and jumping or hopping. Some routines feature more complex leg movements. Routines are generally choreographed by groups affiliated with popular clubs in Japan (see below).
Fans of Para Para often refer to themselves as "paralists" and include official and unofficial teams of dancers in Japan, Chile, Brazil, Spain, the United States, Canada, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Finland, and several other countries. Some such dance teams are recognized by major Japanese music labels such as Avex and have been featured in Japanese media like the magazine Egg.
The history of Para Para is largely described by the community and historians in terms of "booms", during which Para Para saw an increase in popularity. Times of decreased popularity are referred to as "glacial" periods. To date, there have been four distinct booms, each with a distinct cultural and historical context.
"Official" vs. "maniac" The term "official" in the parapara world describes routines made by certain clubs/choreography groups in Japan. A non-exhaustive list of official club events are Starfire, SEF, 9LoveJ, and Twinstar. These routines are danced and learned by most people in the community.
In response to official routines, people in Japan have made their own routines, called "maniac" routines. This movement started in the late 1990s with clubs like Hibiya Radio City and Tottori Eleven choreographing their own routines. In addition to the club events mentioned, other famous maniac club events that existed were Medusa, Area, Joy, AXOS, Bless, and TMD. , club events in Japan have not choreographed many maniac routines, and the movement has basically stopped. However, some official club events like Starfire and SEF still continue. Some paralists prefer maniac to official routines, though, and continue to host small events like Ravenous that feature maniac routines.
Variants Some variants of Para Para include TechPara (set to hyper techno instead of Eurobeat), and TraPara or ToraPara (set to trance).
OriPara and refilms In what is called OriPara (for "original Para Para"), some may make their own parapara routines to their favorite Eurobeat songs. The term OriPara is typically reserved for routines that are not made by famous choreographers or taught at club events.
A refilm is a home-made, usually non-profit video in which dancers film themselves dancing parapara routines. The routines usually come from commercial or club videos, but some have been known to film their own routines, which is a phenomenon called "oripara." These videos have not played a big part in the Japanese parapara community, possibly for copyright reasons, but they are very big part of the international parapara community since there are no large parapara events outside Japan. The two general purposes of a refilm are to highlight a rare routine or to show the public ones' skills. With the advent of YouTube, refilms have become more visible internationally to even non-paralists.
Etymology It is thought that the term "Para Para" is derived from the onomatopoeic expression of one's hand movements along with the music, where the beat of the music was described similarly to "Pa-pa pa-pa-ra ra-ra", similar to phrases such as "boop-boop-bee-doop" in English.
Origin There are several theories about the origin of Para Para. One theory is that it started in the early 1980s when men working in VIP rooms in clubs would choreograph dances to impress female clientele, while another is that it developed from the Takenoko-zoku subculture that would gather in the pedestrian plaza of Yoyogi Park in Harajuku to dance choreographed routines to popular music and disco.Web Japan, Let's Do The Para-Para!!YouTube, Youth of 1980s Tokyo, Japan
History
1st boom (1987–1992) ParaPara is thought to have started in the late 1980s at high-class discos during Japan's bubble era. Men dressed in black suits would teach routines at clubs such as Aoyama King & Queen and Maharaja Azabu-Jūban. It is difficult to learn some of the dances due to the fact that no recordings exist of the routines. It is also largely unknown which clubs made specific routines during this era because of this.
Wangan The term mainly describes the particular choreography from clubs around Tokyo Bay circa 1993, including Eden Roc and the aforementioned Maharaja Azabu-jūban. Like with the 1st boom, such choreography is difficult to find, albeit slightly easier due to the availability of recording devices at the time. Routines of songs from the latter half of the Eurobeat Fantasy, That's Eurobeat, Super Eurobeat volumes 1 through 49, and Maharaja Night Hi-NRG Revolution volumes 1 through 9 music series are usually categorized as wangan. Some wangan Para Para videos include the Venus Cafe's Special and Kyoto Gingerman One Gun. Unfortunately, many wangan dancers have since retired from the Para Para scene, and there are currently very few club events in Japan that play wangan songs.
2nd boom (1993–1995) Many Para Para routines originate from this era. Clubs like Xenon, Twinstar, King & Queen, and Maharaja were very popular during this period. It was also during this period when Avex Trax, the music label in Japan behind the Super Eurobeat compilation series, released one of the first officially licensed Para Para videos to clubs on March 21, 1994, entitled . The video features 40 songs from the 2nd Boom era, and most of the featured routines are still used today. The beginning of this boom can be marked by the release of Super Eurobeat volume 40, and it lasted until as late as Super Eurobeat volume 80. During the latter half of this boom, some clubs created "unofficial" or "maniac" routines, which were featured in Hibiya Radio City, Yokohama Maharaja, and Tottori Eleven.
3rd boom (1999–2001) The cause of this boom has largely been credited to the appearance of Takuya Kimura on television program SMAP×SMAP, dancing to Niko's "Night of Fire" and Domino's "Mickey Mouse March (Eurobeat Version)". During this period, with Xenon having closed its doors, Twinstar continued to make routines. 9LoveJ and Velfarre started making their own routines. The popularity of this period early on was amplified by gyaru culture as well. In commercial videos, Avex and competitors like Victor and Digibeat began releasing regular commercial Para Para videos that featured routines for songs from their respective Eurobeat CDs. Some of these series include Para Para Paradise, Para Para Panic!, and Euroパラパラ How. ParaPara Paradise was the most popular series in sales, and featured an idol group called ParaPara Allstars (PPA). The group originally consisted of Richie, Maki, Miho, Satoko, Tomomi, and Ryoko. At the time, Richie had been in many Twinstar videos and Satoko was featured in many 9LoveJ videos. During this period, "maniac" dances also were choreographed. Some of the more popular clubs featuring "maniac" events were Medusa and Joy.
4th boom (2005–2010) There was a noticeable change in the Para Para scene in 2005, when Avex became aggressive in selling Para Para DVDs like Gazen ParaPara!! and We Love TechPara in 2005, which began in this boom. The height of the 4th boom could be considered to have occurred in 2007 when Farm Records released Para Para DVDs, or circa 2009 when "Ani-Para" reached its peak of popularity. Circa 2008, many Para Para routines were being choreographed to eurobeat remixes of anime songs, mainly by 9LoveJ.
When the Ani-Para boom ended in 2010, Avex stopped releasing videos, and 9LoveJ removed Para Para from their schedule altogether. As of 2014, there had been no major commercially released ParaPara videos since. As for "maniac" events, Joy and TMD choreographed until around 2008, when they stopped altogether.
4th boom glacial period (2010–) With Avex Trax halting all commercial ParaPara videos, the associated marketing dwindled as well, resulting in a noticeable decline in newer paralists. This decline has deeply affected the Para Para scene and has in turn resulted in a decline of club event attendance. As a response to the attendance decline, many events such as StarFire, Ravenous, and others have moved to smaller venues to save costs rather than stopping outright.
The Internet has also changed the ParaPara scene, with many lessons (including those posted by clubs) being found on platforms like YouTube.ParaPara Lovers What Is ParaPara? In addition, the only official club events that are active are SEF and Starfire. 9LoveJ stopped playing Eurobeat and hyper techno around the end of 2010.
Choreographer groups There are a few choreographer groups that have stood out in the history of ParaPara.
is a long-running group of choreographers that has had many members. It is unclear when the group first began, but it is assumed to be in the early 1990s. The team had the most impact in Twinstar, where they choreographed most of the club's Para Para routines. There were many members in the 1990s, but the most famous members were (real name Keita Fukaya), (real name Takashi Arai), (real name Taisuke Hotta), (real name Haruki Takahashi,) and (real name unknown). All five of these members have appeared in Twinstar videos at least once. , however, the only members of are (real name Yoshihiro Yamada), (real name Ryohei Yamaoka), and (real name Katsuyoshi Inomata), who are all currently choreographers of StarFire.ParaPara Lovers Shishou Gundan
T-RREX is also a long-running official choreographer group. The initials stand for Twinstar, Rie, Richie, and Xenon, which refers to who started T-RREX. The most famous and long-running members are Ryōhei, Inocchi, and . They mainly choreograph for StarFire following Twinstar's closure in 2003. Shintaro ceased activity in the community in 2010, and it is unclear if he is still in T-RREX.
Team SEF is another long-running official choreographer group. They strictly choreograph for the club event SEF. The name "Team SEF" wasn't popular until the SEF Gold Club videos were first released around 2004. The members around that time were Ichi, Omami, Rena, Yano, Shingo, Kahori, and possibly Satoko. After Velfarre closed in 2006, almost all of the members were replaced when the event changed names to SEF Deluxe. The members as of 2015 are Manami, Rumine, Kaihei, Kei, Mai, Shiori and Sakiko.SEF DX, SEF DX Team & Staff
Club events