В Гранд-Форксе 500 школьников и взрослых установили рекорд штата по танцам под «Макарену»

Today in History revisits the Friday, Sept. 6, 1996, edition of the Grand Forks Herald and highlights a story of around 500 mostly elementary, middle school and high school students, lined up along South Washington, dancing to the Macarena in an effort to set a North Dakota Macarena record. Strutting their stuff ■ 500 show up to dance their way into the record books Just when you thought it finally had died, the Macarena dance craze rose from the proverbial ashes Thursday afternoon when XL 93 and local residents set the North Dakota Macarena record. ADVERTISEMENT Stretching from B & N Oil Co. past the Italian Moon, an estimated 500 kids of all ages braved the 90-degree heat and 30-mph wind gusts to swing their hips to the amusement of South Washington Street rush-hour traffic. As passers-by puzzled over the unusual scene, the crowd, mainly elementary, middle and high school students, strutted their Macarena stuff to the song three times back to back. Not to be outdone by the adolescents, parents, grandparents and preschoolers weren't afraid to prove they, too, were part of the in-crowd. About 49,500 people shy of the Macarena world record, set earlier this year at Dodger Stadium, the North Dakota record would have been set if anyone at all showed up since there was no current record, said XL 93 disc jockey Rockin' Rick. "It's so huge right now, people think that Grand Forks is way behind in the times, jumping on the bandwagon, but we've been playing it for two years," he said. "It appeals to the old, to the young, pretty much anybody who doesn't have a sense of rhythm, including me," he said. Little coordination is needed for the Macarena, and that's the dance's biggest selling point, as well as its biggest criticism. "It requires no skill and no imagination," said a Budget Music and Video employee, as dancers gathered outside in the store's parking lot. "It's like lemmings leaping off a cliff." Macarena cynicism for the most part has yet to permeate the younger crowd, as the dance is being taught at several schools as warm-ups for music class. But for the time being, there is no escaping the biggest dance phenomenon since Billy Ray Cyrus had a decent paycheck. ADVERTISEMENT — Cale Wagner BEING ADVERTISED By Staff reports Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story. Listen to this article Conversation