Straighten up – that’s the message behind a music video that’s being launched and broadcast to many Alberta schools Wednesday in an attempt to educate students about spinal health and the importance of good posture.
A St. Albert company is behind the music video and the event launch.
“We wrote the song, produced the music, produced the video and are doing the event management top to bottom,” said R.J. Cui, chief executive officer of PlanIt Sound. His wife Rowena Manansala, the chief operating officer of the company, is managing the event.
The event, which is being run at Victoria School for the Arts in Edmonton but will broadcast live via YouTube today, will be hosted by Ryan Jespersen of Breakfast Television Edmonton and feature a live performance of the Straighten Up Alberta theme song, entitled Stretch Lee, as well as the premiere of the music video.
“It’s definitely got a mainstream urban/hip hop sound to it,” Cui said.
“It’s always nice to work with talented young artists from St. Albert and Edmonton,” Cui said.
The video channels a Karate Kid-type story and incorporates the stretches being introduced to the viewers, trying to encourage them to be more active. The point is to raise awareness of spinal health and the effects of poor posture, and give the students an easy, three-minute routine they can use to stretch.
Straighten Up Alberta is an initiative brought to the province by the Alberta College and Association of Chiropractors. Cui said PlanIt Sound has done work for the association before.
“They saw some of our other work that we’ve done in terms of anthems and making key messaging really fun,” Cui said. “We’re really lucky to be able to work with ACAC on such an important message like this.”
Putting on such an event, which includes online broadcasting, is a complicated endeavour, Cui said.
“There’s a lot of moving parts to the puzzle to co-ordinate,” Cui said.
The point is to get kids from kindergarten to Grade 12 “to think this is cool and fun.”
The registrations of schools that will participate in the broadcast have exceeded expectations, Cui said.
“That was really the main objective, to get as many kids involved and youth involved as we could across Alberta,” Cui said. “Schools across Alberta are going to be tuning in and doing the group stretch at the same time.”
