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What is ParaPara?
ParaPara is a Japanese dance style that is simple to learn, but difficult to master. Performed primarily to a genre of electronic dance music from Italy called "Eurobeat", ParaPara dancing mainly consists of hand and arm movements done in precise synchronization with others. It is a dance of high energy and unity, and is a blast to perform!
ParaPara (also "Para-Para" or "Para Para") has been popular in the clubs of Japan since the mid-90's. Unlike most forms of dance, there are specific, preset movements for each song, and everyone does the same moves at once, similar to line dancing. ParaPara is said to have existed since the early 80's, when Europe started marketing Italo Disco and Eurobeat in Japan, but did not achieve much popularity outside of Japan until the late 90's, when the largest popularity "boom" of ParaPara took place. Today, it is known throughout the world, especially the Pacific Rim.
There are other forms of ParaPara as well, denoted by the genre of music it is danced to. "TraPara" (or "ToraPara") is danced to Trance music, and tends to be very smooth and flowy, although repetitive, much like the music it is danced to. "TechPara" is danced to Hyper Techno music (more commonly referred to as 90's rave), and is much more difficult, technical, and fast-paced than ParaPara. It is recommended that TechPara be reserved for advanced paralists who are familiar with the basics of ParaPara.
What is Para˛Mahou?
Our team name translates to "ParaPara Magic", and we are a professional ParaPara performance group. Our team travels to various Japan-interest (mostly anime) conventions and events across the nation, performing and instructing others how to ParaPara dance.
Para˛Mahou was founded by Mi~ke and Gelly in the summer of 2003, a few months after the music-based arcade in Nashville, Dance Beat Arcade, set up a
"ParaPara Paradise: 2nd Mix" machine. The creation of this team was inspired by the United States ParaPara team "Kikimo-dan" (now known as "Ecks-D ParaPara"), whose videos taught Mi~ke and Gelly their first ParaPara dances. The team
featured in the “ParaPara Paradise” video series, the “ParaPara Allstars”, was the final inspiration which led to the formation of Para˛Mahou.
Para˛Mahou was created with the purpose of promoting the understanding and performance of the popular Japanese dance style of ParaPara. Para˛Mahou is officially associated with and sponsored by the Middle Tennessee Anime Convention (MTAC).
Our first ParaPara lesson was at MTAC in 2004, and our first stage performance was at MTAC in 2005. It was during this time in which Para˛Mahou finally began to pick up its pace. We traveled to A-kon 15 in Dallas, Texas, and ended up being recruited as ParaPara dancers to attend Anime Expo 2004 in Anaheim, California, to dance for the J-Pop artist Yoko Ishida at her "Hyper Yocomix" album release concert. Although Gelly couldn't attend due to the cost of the
trip, Mi~ke journeyed to California to perform with Yoko Ishida, alongside five talented ParaPara dancers from across the United States. This lead to Mi~ke being hired by Geneon to be a choreographer for ParaPara dances to the songs featured on the “ParaPara MAX US Mix” CD series in January of 2006, and was even featured in Yoko Ishida's ParaPara and Live-in-Concert DVDs, "ParaPara MAX -- The Moves 101" and "Anime-Pop Star Yoko Ishida: Live In Concert". Our team went on to perform ParaPara with Yoko Ishida several times throughout her tour in the United States.
Para˛Mahou has performed at MTAC every year for the past seven years, and the upcoming MTAC Goes To Eleven will be our team's eighth appearance at the convention. We have been involved with ParaPara events at various other conventions, and founded the ParaPara Dance Association of Middle Tennessee State University. We're always seeking new opportunities to share ParaPara with others and spread the ParaPara love! Be sure to check out our events page to see where we will be heading next, and please let us know if you're interested in becoming a part of the team, yourself!
Special thanks to Kevin Lillard of A Fan's View for photos!
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