Odorite (踊り手) are dancers who upload their dance videos on Nico Nico Douga and post them under the category Odottemita (踊ってみた, lit. tried to dance) which is a sub-category of Yattemita (やってみた). Odorite performs in solo or in groups depending on their liking.
Uploaders append the tag 踊ってみた in the videos to easily categorize them for searching.
Uploading their videos is considered by most as a 'bold' move because they are to present themselves physically just like a real performer unlike utaite, who only need their voices. Odorite tend to cover their faces with a mask during their debut so that they wouldn't be recognized and would only remove it once they are confident enough to reveal their identity.
History
Early Odottemita videos have ranged from interpretative dance to original choreography of various songs not limited to Japanese. These also include remixes and other song arrangements.[1]
2007
In 2007, the very first Odottemita video was uploaded by a user named Seira (せいら, lit. Sayla) performing a parody dance cover to a song from the videogame Megaman 2. This has led many others to upload their dance covers of songs in different genres imaginable.[1]
VOCALOID Influence
It was not until the rise to fame of the software VOCALOID by Yamaha which boosted the number of uploads of dance videos featuring the vocals of the VOCALOID Hatsune Miku. This internet phenomenon has greatly shifted the genre of songs that are being covered by odorite. In line with this, other odorite prefer to use covered songs by utaite to have a more natural interpretation.
At present, majority of uploaded odottemita videos are VOCALOID dance covers.
Live Performances
Nico Nico Douga dancers are usually supported by fans particularly with organizing events which would allow well-known odorite to showcase their dancing skills. [2] The most patronized event is the Nico Nico Dance Master series hosted by Nico Nico Douga, which features trending odorite dancing to famous songs of the season.
MikuMikuDance
MikuMikuDance has been one influential form of entertainment, specially the dance videos. These videos come to fruition with the help of videos uploaded by odorite. MMD artists trace motions from the videos and distribute them as motion file. However, upon distribution, the credit of the origin is lost in the process.