Parapara and odottemita dances may look similar, but they have different origins and purposes.
Parapara
Parapara has its roots in 1980s Japan. The dance involves official choreographies introduced by parapara clubs, which are learned at club nights, from recordings, or from videos recorded by fans. The footwork in the choreographies is simple, with the focus being primarily on hand movements. The dance is not freestyle; each song has its own choreography. Parapara is typically danced to the beats of eurobeat (parapara), hyper trance (trapara), or hyper techno (techpara). Parapara is a form of synchronized group dance that originated in Japan in the 1980s. TanPARA, a registered association focusing on parapara dance, has operated in Tampere since 2009, offering dance classes and performances.
Video: Parapara dance performance by Tampere-based group TanPARA. Source: YouTube.
Odottemita
Odottemita (translated as “I tried to dance”) involves reinterpreting any dance choreography. Many of the choreographies are originally created by Japanese hobbyists, while others are derived from games, anime, or music videos. A key aspect of odottemita is sharing recordings of the dance, often on platforms like YouTube or on the Japanese Niconico video sharing platform. The first odottemita video was uploaded by a user named Seira in which they performed a cover of a parody dance to a song from the Megaman 2 video game. The phenomenon grew rapidly in Japan between 2007 and 2010, coinciding with the popularity of the Miku Hatsune vocaloid synthesizer. Many odottemita videos feature vocaloid dance covers. Odottemita quickly spread internationally through the internet. In Finland, there are several odottemita hobbyists who have uploaded their videos to platforms like YouTube.
Videos: Examples of odottemita dance videos by Finnish enthusiasts. Source: YouTube.
