Word: parapara
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...typical salaryman now endures a daily allotment of petty humiliation. On his way to his dead-end job, he glances up to see a jumbo TV screen showing middle-aged men in boxer shorts dancing the parapara, a kind of disco line dance. After work, he steps around homeless men at the train station who once had stable jobs like his. If he seeks solace at his favorite izakaya, or pub, he may find ridicule in the form of oyaji gals, young women who get their kicks by dressing in wrinkled men's suits and doing salaryman impressions: swilling beer...
...part of the club scene, parapara might seem the antithesis of cool, but it's just the thing for a generation raised on Gameboys. At Isn't It?, the cigarette smoke is thick and the drinks of choice are Tequila shots for boys and peach fizzes for girls. In a room full of liquored-up teens and 20-somethings, you'd expect a little sexual tension. Instead, there's a vibe of intense concentration, almost studiousness, as the guys and girls, many with matching dyed-blond locks, go through the parapara motions between the tables and chairs, while staring...
...year-old truck driver who helms a Hino across Japan by day, is a recognized parapara master at hip clubs down in Kansai, western Japan. He's learned the moves to over 500 songs and continues memorizing. "I come to these events and do the dance to make friends," he shouts over the music. A social world of its own, parapara offers those who are interested in each other the chance to find common ground?without even talking...
...without a ton of work. Razumi, a 16-year-old freeta?the Japanese term for a person who isn't in school or working full-time?now dedicates her time to perfecting the art of parapara. Concentration puckering Razumi's pixie-shaped face into a frown, she tries to keep time with the fast-paced beats at Isn't It? "I practice every day and make sure to keep up with all the new releases as they come out," she says, her otaku-ness coming across more brightly than the florescent green of her zip-up sweater...
...swinging Japanese are caught up in parapara. Toshi, black hair swooshing three inches off his blemish-free brow, has plenty of experience in parapara paradise as a bartendar at Isn't It? Watching his peers week after week dancing like automatons with a Tequila problem, Toshi has developed strong feelings. "I can't believe they find that dance fun?it makes me sick just looking...