By ROBIN SHANNON

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – In what looked like an audition for a music video, more than 60 students from John L. Ory Communications Magnet School gathered in the school’s auditorium as part of a campaign to encourage more physical fitness.

The school was randomly selected to participate in the nationwide “Let’s Move!” flash workout program, an initiative created by First Lady Micelle Obama aimed at curbing childhood obesity and inactivity. According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, about 70 percent of kids in America suffer from obesity.

John L. Ory joined schools across the nation in a five-minute dance routine that began promptly at 12:42 p.m. Students at Ory represented the greater New Orleans area in the program.

“The program is about getting kids up and moving as opposed to sitting in front of a television or video game,” said John L. Ory Principal Teri Noel. “The goal is to increase cardiovascular health and encourage healthier eating.”

The workout routine featured a music video of a reworked song from Grammy award-winner Beyonce. Noel said the students participating in Tuesday’s event were selected from fifth- through eighth-grade classes, but the entire school has been practicing the moves from the video for nearly a month.

“I think that we all know all the moves by heart now,” Noel said. “Some of the older kids were a bit reluctant at first to participate, but our younger kids really got into it.”

The performance was filmed for television, and portions of the program filmed across the country will eventually be compiled into a YouTube video produced by the National Association of Broadcasters Education Foundation.

In exchange for their performance, the students were given “Let’s Move!” T-shirts, as well as samples of Beyonce’s perfume.

In addition to the workout, the program also sponsored the installation of salad bars in schools across the country.