The History of Para Para

やっほー～！ It's time for another Gyaru blog~

This time, I wanted to talk about something so integral to Gyaru culture, but I honestly don't see many people really discussing it. Of course, people dance Para Para, post tutorials, and other things like that, but... It just feels like no one ever gets into the nitty-gritty of it all! No shade to anyone else, of course... 

Sadly, I'm just actually insane and have this insatiable need to get to the bottom of every aspect of something I'm interested in, hehe~... At the risk of sounding a bit dramatic, I very frequently find myself in awe that something like Gyaru even exists. I'm so shocked that something so amazing and unique just carved itself into the annals of human history, and that it truly has what I refer to as a culture. Therefore, when it comes to cultural aspects like Para Para, I instantly need to understand it and see where it came from.

So, without further ado, the topic for today: The history of Para Para! 

If you remember my Gyaru Terms & Vocab blog (if not, definitely check it out), then you'll know how I defined Para Para there. Just in case anyone needs a refresher, though...

Para para (パラパラ): Synchronized dance that originated in Japan; similar to line dancing, and made up of synchronized movements

So, for the Americans in the audience, we recognize line dancing as things like the Cupid Shuffle, the Cha Cha Slide, and the Electric Slide (or if you wanna get really country with it, Boot Scootin' Boogie and Copperhead Road). I'm sure some may have gripes with this comparison I'm drawing, perhaps Para Para is more similar to something I'm not thinking of, but I think it's a very apt comparison! A group of people dancing in unison and doing the same choreographed moves... You could truly be talking about either American line dancing or Para Para here!

When looking at the history of such dancing, it's no surprise that there is overlap; after all, group dancing with a specific set of dance moves is not a unique concept. But Para Para... I think that's something to examine further.

So let's do that, starting with some basic information!

Black Diamond doing Para Para in San Francisco

Para Para, as per my definition, is a form of synchronized dancing that is mainly done by people in the Gyaru subculture (guys/gals). Standard/traditional Para Para routines are done to Eurobeat, but there are a few other variants of Para Para as well: 

• Tech Para - Routines done to techno music
• Tra Para/Tora Para - Routines done to trance music; sometimes referred to as Tora Para, as the Japanese pronunciation for trance is "toransu"
• Ori Para - Original, "fan-made" routines; routines not created by official choreographers or taught in nightclubs

(Many gaijin Gyaru, particularly in America, also do Para Para to classic American line dancing songs, which I think is so fun~)

Para Para routines, as I mentioned with Ori Para, would typically be created by choreographers or by certain nightclubs (one such club was Twinstar, which you may know for hosting Angeleek graduation ceremonies). In those nightclubs, the routines would be taught to patrons who wished to learn them, and they were known as "official" Para Para routines. Other nightclubs would create "maniac" Para Para routines, which were Ori Para's created by that specific nightclub.

Gyaru are not the only fans of Para Para, however! Other Para Para fans are often referred to as "Paralists" (although it is my understanding that the terms are not mutually exclusive, so one could be both a guy/gal and a Paralist at the same time). Para Para undoubtedly became a bit of a fad in Japan, as did Gyaru as a whole in the early days. I've touched on this before, but Gyaru was truly mainstream for a while, and everyone was trying to get in on it... Including video game companies!

One of the most recognizable, famous pieces of Para Para media is the 2000 Konami video game, ParaParaParadise! It was a way to cash in on the popularity of Para Para, and was released as both an arcade game and PlayStation 2 title. It was a rhythm game, similar to Dance Dance Revolution, where players would complete dance moves using the game's dance pad. Unlike DDR, though, ParaParaParadise would encourage people to use their arms as part of the dances, not just their feet. The game's song list was quintessential Para Para, focusing mainly on Avex Trax Eurobeat. Paralists and guys and gals alike were drawn to the game, and it has cemented itself in Gyaru history, remaining a highly sought-after item on second-hand sites.

Alright, we have some of the background information covered, but I know you're probably saying to yourself, "Okay, Antama, that's all well and good... But where did all this even come from?" Worry not, we'll get into that! The reason I held off on immediately pinpointing a definitive place of origin was that... I was led to two origin points! 

(Well, technically three... I have heard people say that Para Para might have also come from Bon Odori, a type of traditional Japanese dance. However, the evidence for that just isn't really there, so I won't be discussing it further, in favor of the two main points.)

The first being that Para Para originated in Europe in the 1980s, and the second, Para Para is a derivative of Takenokozoku culture in the late 70s.

Let's explore them both!

PARA PARA AS A EUROPEAN INVENTION

Not to go full music historian on ya, but... We cannot discuss this without first discussing the origins of Eurobeat, as it is integral to Gyaru culture, so I'll try to keep it brief!

Eurobeat is a style of Electronic Dance Music (EDM) that, as the name suggests, originated in Europe. It emerged from genres like hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy"), Italo disco, and Euro disco. The term was born in gay clubs in the early 1980s, after the term hi-NRG fell out of fashion. European music influenced and altered the traditional hi-NRG sound, mainly due in part to the popularity of Italo disco, which originated in Italy in the early 80s. Italo disco combined elements of hi-NRG and Euro disco to create an extremely diverse genre, which would then go on to become Eurobeat as we know it today.

The term Eurobeat was first used in England, after the magazine Record Mirror reported that the hi-NRG chart was being retitled to the Eurobeat chart on December 14, 1985. After this first recorded use, the term Eurobeat exploded in popularity and was largely adopted everywhere. In Japan, the first instance of the term Eurobeat being used was in mid-1986, when the Japanese label Alfa International changed the genre label of their hi-NRG compilation albums from "hi-NRG disco" to "Eurobeat." However, they were not the first to release an album with the title Eurobeat; Canyon International released their first Eurobeat Fantasy compilation album in October of 1986, to which Alfa International almost immediately released their first That's Eurobeat compilation. All this to say, Eurobeat had established its presence in Japan by the mid-80s.

So, where does Para Para factor into all of this? As Eurobeat emerged in the European club scene, people began finding new ways to dance to this new genre. Although the term Para Para is of Japanese origin, the dance moves and routines would begin to take shape in Europe, but would be introduced to Japan with the introduction of Eurobeat itself. In nightclubs like Maharaja Roppongi and Juliana's Tokyo (where Gyaru's predecessor, Bodikon, was huge), Eurobeat was the most popular style of music played, and people famously flocked there in droves to dance. It was in these clubs that Para Para, as we know it, was born.

(I talked about the influence of nightclubs in my Bodikon blog, if you'd like to check it out.)

Para Para became so intertwined with Eurobeat, in fact, that Eurobeat icon David Rodgers designated Para Para as the only way one could dance to the music. As Eurobeat became more and more popular in Japan, other European artists began leaning into Para Para more and more. They could tell that when it came to Para Para, there was something special happening.

PARA PARA AS AN HOMAGE TO TAKENOKOZOKU

Takenokozoku dancers in Harajuku

Takenokozoku, meaning "bamboo shoot tribe," was a counterculture movement not unlike Gyaru. They would gather in Harajuku in the late 70s, dressed in brightly colored, eccentric outfits, and dance to their heart's content. Again, in the interest of keeping this brief, I won't go into all the specifics of Takenokozoku, but more information can be found in the book Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno (pages 28-35), and on the Japanese Fashion Wiki.

Anyway... Although music had not yet been blessed with the invention of Eurobeat, hi-NRG, and house music, Takenokozoku dancers were no strangers to their predecessors. European artists such as ABBA and Electric Light Orchestra would be heard from the dancers' boom boxes as they moved in perfect unison with one another, crowding the streets of Harajuku with a vibrant display of youth counterculture.

Visually, you can definitely see some overlap with Takenokozoku and Gyaru: Bright, neon outfits, accessories galore, and obviously... Dancing! Much like Takenokozoku dancers would gather to dance in the streets of Harajuku, guys and gals would do the same in their neighborhood of Shibuya. Of course, not all Takenokozoku dancers would go on to become Gyaru and Gyaruo, and not all guys and gals would be directly inspired by the Takenokozoku. Still, it is clear to see that the Takenokozoku dancers of the late 70s would lay some of the foundation for the Para Para craze that would overtake the coming decades.

So, now that we've explored the potential origins of Para Para... Is there one origin point that holds more weight than the other? I think this is a matter of some conjecture. In my opinion, I think the true origin of Para Para is a mix of both: Takenokozoku laid the foundation, and the introduction of Eurobeat to Japan in the mid 80s helped truly form Para Para as we know it today. Nevertheless, the history is a long and varied one!

I hope everyone enjoyed todays blog! Para Para is one of my favorite aspects of Gyaru culture, so I'm always so happy whenever I get to talk about it~ This is actually the first blog in a little 3-blog mini series, so please look forward to more blogs about Para Para! Next, I'm going to post a Gyaru Guides on Para Para, so if you're looking for any tips, tricks, or routine suggestions, I think you'll really enjoy the blog~ This is also the very first blog that I'm directly cross-posting on both my Blogspot and Spacehey blog, so this is kind of exciting for me!! I'm so happy to have two platforms to post on, it makes me feel like such a proper blogger, hehe~ As always, feel free to comment whatever you wish! Questions, concerns, blog suggestions... Anything is welcome~ I love hearing from all of you, it makes my heart feel so full~ With that, though, I'll wrap this up here!

Remember, Antama loves you~!

Kiss kiss~☆⌒ヽ(*'､^*)chu