Sporting a winning formula, with glee
Justin Leroux turned down a hockey scholarship for theatre. The glee club at Cathedral high school is happy he did.
When he was in elementary school, Justin Leroux played the title role in Oliver! at Theatre Aquarius. It was an epiphany.
“I was a real sports guy. I played Jr. A hockey. Not surprising. My dad was a steelworker and he coached hockey. It made sense for me to be a sports guy too, right? I had two knee surgeries and a broken collar bone. It was tough. The thing was, though, I loved to sing, too. Maybe I just liked attention. I don’t know,” he laughs.
Even though Leroux had a hockey scholarship, he decided he wanted to work in film and television. He joined the military and made enough money to act part time. He took workshops in film and theatre at McMaster. And he fell in love with musicals.
“The thing was my body didn’t move the way I wanted it to. Dance wasn’t my strong suit. So, I did Second City shows in Toronto and Vancouver instead. And I did some independent film work and some commercials.”
Ultimately, Leroux found his way to teaching.
“I went to work at Cathedral High School. They wanted to revamp their drama program and they were looking for a young male athletic type who could make this happen. Well, I could pull 300 pounds and I could also sing and dance.” Leroux was hired.
“They wanted me to do musicals. I said if I was doing a musical I would need a budget of $20,000. They said, forget it. So, I had to think what I could do to fit in. That’s when I started a glee club. You know like Glee on TV. It worked.”
Leroux had 156 students audition for the club in 2010. He took 62.
“You know the club is so much bigger than myself,” he says. “Dee Vittallon does our choreography and Simone Caruso does the music. I’m the artistic director, but it’s a group thing. It works because we are all working together.
At the Show Choir Canada Competition in 2019, Cathedral’s Glee Club won big-time.
“It was about taking raw, natural talent and fashioning it into something special. Most of the kids we had didn’t have singing and dancing lessons behind them. Their parents couldn’t afford that. What they had was incredible passion.”
Leroux has a powerful sense of bonding with the young people he works with. He maintains an interest in them long after they have left high school.
“The kids who pass through this group will forever be my kids. They may have gone out into the real world and have become young men and women but they come back to say hello. They often sponsor kids for costumes and dance shoes. They know what it was like when they were here.”
COVID-19 and limitations in programming at the school will, of course, have an impact on the kinds of programs being offered.
“In our school programs we need to reinvent what we do, reinvent the wheel. After all I’m in charge of how I adapt. I have to learn to work around things. I will have to work things out day by day. The world has changed, but personally I’m not going to let fear control me. I say, ‘Be Awesome, Don’t Be Afraid, Have a Great Day.’ ”
Leroux, 38, says his glee program is very inclusive.
“It’s about being who you are. I was never teased or bullied because I liked to sing and dance,” Leroux says. “I tell my students you should never have to explain yourself. If your friends make fun of you for what you like then they shouldn’t be your friends any longer. It’s all about having confidence. You can love football and singing and dancing at the same time. These things don’t need to be exclusive.”
Leroux knows kids need a creative outlet. And he knows they need it more than ever today.
“Let’s just put one foot in front of the other,” he says. At home with his two daughters and son, he likes to sing and dance. “It’s all about having fun. I can’t wait until we can start glee again.”
“The kids who pass through this group will forever be my kids.” JUSTIN LEROUX CATHEDRAL HIGH SCHOOL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR