Dance craze sweeping North Andover

Will Broaddus |, The Eagle-Tribune, North Andover, Mass.
·4 min read

Nov. 15—Neither The Twist, Funky Chicken nor Macarena have anything on the NAMS Jam.

That's because, in addition to being fun to perform, this dance craze is helping to raise money for programs at North Andover Middle School.

The NAMS Jam started sweeping North Andover on Tuesday, when the middle school's Parent Teacher Advisory Committee first invited students to participate in a series of daily dance challenges.

Those challenges will last until Thursday, Nov. 18, and call for doing variations on the dance in different spots around town.

One day, children are asked to dance in costume, or with a pet, then the next day with someone older or younger than themselves. Yet another challenge asks them to combine the dance with another activity that they love, like baseball, martial arts or painting.

"It's about getting out of your comfort zone," said Maureen Hentz, a member of the parent-teacher committee who is organizing the challenge.

Parents post their child's performance on Facebook or Instagram with the hashtag #namsdancechallenge by 9 p.m. on the day of the challenge. A panel of judges then declares which entry was the most creative and awards a prize.

"Some kids are film savvy and some aren't, but we want them to get out and engage," Hentz said.

But doing the dance isn't limited to participants in the challenge, or to students at the middle school, or even to children.

Members of North Andover's fire and police departments have performed the NAMS Jam, as well as the town's Select Board, and all of them can be seen in videos on the NAMS PTAC Facebook page. So can the staff and customers from a number of enthusiastic local businesses, such as Independent Tire and Auto, Goldenseal Apothecary and Mad Maggie's Ice Cream.

"It engages our community in a fun way, and shows that adults are there" for the students, Hentz said.

The dance itself consists of four moves, which were demonstrated by Jorge Goncalves and Caroline Beasley, principal and assistant principal at the middle school, in a video that is posted at the bottom of the FAQ page at the PTAC website, sites.google.com/site/namsptac/.

The NAMS Jam starts with raised arms that rock back and forth like windshield wipers, Hentz said, followed by extended hands that look like they are dropping sprinkles on a dessert.

"Some people are interpreting that as 'play the piano," she said.

These are followed by motions that resemble mixing a cake, and then throwing a lacrosse ball, but none of this is set in stone.

"Kids can do the NAMS Jam or they can do some other dance," Hentz said. "Some of our kids dance and have some strong moves, but we do not parse whether dancing is moving your feet or not."

The original version of the choreography comes from Mybooster.com, a website where parents register their children so they can participate in fundraising drives.

Anyone who posts a video of themselves dancing can provide a link to the site, where people can donate to North Andover Middle School. At the same time, they are asked to provide a link to the PTAC Facebook page.

Anyone who doesn't want to dance at all can also simply send emails to friends and family members seeking contributions for the school.

However people feel comfortable participating, the PTAC is hoping this new alternative to their typical annual fundraisers will raise $17,000, Hentz said, which will be used to fund programs at the middle school.

The money will be used with three goals in mind: making sure everyone can participate in enrichment activities; supporting teachers and staff; and building community.

"Many of our families were impacted by the pandemic, and wouldn't be able to afford" some programs, Hentz said. "We are truly being inclusive by lowering the financial barrier to participating."

But the desire to build community also informs some of the challenge requirements, such as dancing with people who are older or younger, and dancing with a teacher or staff member.

Another important aim of this fundraiser, in addition to reaching an audience beyond the middle school, was to give businesses a way to participate without placing a burden on their finances.

"Because COVID has stretched businesses so thin, the last thing the middle school PTO wanted to do was ask them for donations for a fundraiser," Hentz said.

Giving children a constructive way to get outside and be active, following the lockdowns of the pandemic, was another factor in organizing the NAMS Jam.