<\/p>\n
Many people claim that they can\u2019t dance, but parapara isn\u2019t your average dance style. With its unique moves, music, and community, parapara may be easier to tackle that most people think. So what is it anyway? Where did it come from? And how can you get started?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Parapara is a type of Japanese, choreographed dancing that focuses on upper body moves, using arms and hands, while mostly limiting footwork to a simple, side-to-side step set to the beat.\u00a0 Routines are set to certain types of dance music and each song features it\u2019s own distinct set of moves.\u00a0 Parapara is most commonly performed as a group dance and is closely tied to the Japanese club and pop culture scenes.\u00a0 In the West however, paralists\u2014people who dance parapara\u2014are often more spread out, so it\u2019s not uncommon to find solo paralists who favor gatherings at Japanese-influenced events.\u00a0 Anime conventions and Japanese culture festivals are a common favorite.\u00a0 Parapara comes in a few distinct varieties determined by the types of music it\u2019s\u00a0danced to: <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Born in the land of the rising sun, parapara is believed to have started in Japan in the mid to late 80\u2032s.\u00a0 Accounts are somewhat hazy, but best estimates place the origins of parapara at a discoth\u00e8que in Tokyo\u2019s Shinjuku district.\u00a0 Reportedly, the discoth\u00e8que staff began creating basic choreography to Hi-NRG music\u2014the predecessor to modern eurobeat\u2014in efforts to draw in new patrons.\u00a0 Patrons\u00a0began learning these new dances, and as they grew in popularity, the dance style began spreading to other discoth\u00e8ques throughout the region.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This initial birth of parapara and the years immediately following it are\u00a0what are commonly referred to as the first \u201cboom.\u201d\u00a0 Since this initial boom, the popularity of parapara has come and gone in waves, much like any other lasting pop-culture trend.\u00a0 As video and Internet technology have progressed alongside the parapara movement, access to this unique dance style has slowly but surely spread into other parts of East Asia, and eventually into the West.\u00a0 It\u2019s thanks to this migration that a\u00a0community for\u00a0parpara fans\u00a0now exists outside of Japan.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now that you are familiar with the \u201cWhat?\u201d and \u201cWhere?\u201d, the next logical step is \u201cHow can I get started?\u201d\u00a0 The most common method for beginning paralists to learn new dances is to learn from other paralists or by following along with parapara videos.\u00a0 Many online retailers, particularly those based in Japan, are a great place to find videos for purchase.\u00a0\u00a0If you decide to buy a parapara video though, be sure that you have the means to play it.\u00a0 Many DVDs purchased from overseas require special hardware or software to play.\u00a0 If your budget is a little tight don\u2019t worry!\u00a0 There are plenty of great places to learn online such as from dance troupes like EKS-D or videos found on various streaming media sites.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Many paralists\u2014even well seasoned ones\u2014sometimes find it easier to learn from videos that have been \u201cflipped\u201d or \u201creversed\u201d so that the image is like looking in a mirror.\u00a0 Beginners may also find the fast pace of parapara a bit intimidating at first, so sometimes it helps to slow down\u00a0the video and learn a new dance section by section, speeding it up as you become more comfortable with the moves.\u00a0 We find that VLC Media Player<\/a>\u2014a free piece of software\u2014is a particularly useful tool to slow down videos and achieve the \u201cmirrored\u201d effect.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Parapara dances are split into\u00a03 main parts: The Intro<\/strong><\/em><\/span>\u2014which corresponds to the musical bridge at the beginning of the song,\u00a0Lettered \u201cMelos\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014which correspond to the different\u00a0parts of the song\u2019s verses or melo<\/em><\/strong><\/span>dies, and the Sabi<\/em><\/strong><\/span>\u2014which corresponds to the song\u2019s chorus.\u00a0 Most parapara routines follow a repeating pattern of Intro\u2192A Melo\u2192B Melo\u2192Sabi.<\/em><\/strong><\/span> Some\u00a0dances will occasionally feature\u00a0a choreographed Lead-In<\/em><\/strong><\/span> section which appears one time at the beginning of the dance,\u00a0however there are\u00a0no set rules regarding when a Lead-In<\/em><\/strong><\/span> should appear.\u00a0 Often this is something decided by the choreographer based on the structure of the corresponding song.\u00a0 A Lead-In<\/em><\/strong><\/span> may also be added by an individual dancer depending on the edit\/mix of the song they are using, or the dancer’s personal preferences.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once you have some videos in hand, or paralist friend to learn from, it\u2019s simply a matter of practice and repetition before the moves start coming more naturally.\u00a0 Reviewing your dancing in a mirror or video, or asking a friend for feedback can often help you achieve the personal look and style you are after.\u00a0 So get out there, get dancing, and ask yourself…<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \n Many people claim that they can\u2019t dance, but parapara isn\u2019t your average dance style. With its unique moves, music, and community, parapara may be easier to tackle that most people think. So what is it anyway? Where did it come from? And how can you get started? WHAT IS PARAPARA? Parapara is a type of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":85,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_show_text_before_share":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_type":"","sfsi_plus_gutenberg_icon_alignemt":"","sfsi_plus_gutenburg_max_per_row":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-71","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirakira.org\/XD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirakira.org\/XD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirakira.org\/XD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirakira.org\/XD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirakira.org\/XD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/kirakira.org\/XD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/71\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kirakira.org\/XD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/85"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kirakira.org\/XD\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n<\/p>\nWHAT IS PARAPARA?<\/h2>\n
\n
\n<\/p>\nWHERE IS IT FROM?<\/h2>\n
\n<\/p>\nHOW TO GET STARTED!<\/h2>\n
\u201cCAN YOU FEEL THE BEAT?\u201d<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"