Sugar Sammy | The High School Musical of Côte-des-Neiges

It sings, it dances and it dreams big at La Voie school, located in the heart of the multicultural Côte-des-Neiges district. Its students are not lacking in role models: professional basketball player Chris Boucher and comedian Sugar Sammy have already walked through its corridors.

“To hear that a former student of La Voie has gone so far in his career makes me proud. Maybe we can do that too, you know ! exclaims Jasmine-Grace Aspacio, 16, in the same Franglais that made the comedian’s mark.

It’s dinner time at La Voie school. A dozen young people from the music club agreed to talk with The Press for their love of the stage and the cultural industry in Quebec.

Aged 13 to 16, they are full of ambition and full of talent. They are also, for the most part, born to immigrant parents.

This is the first thing that strikes you when you set foot in the establishment, located a few blocks from the Plaza Côte-des-Neiges: at La Voie school, 99% of the students come from immigration. They are native to more than 70 countries, mainly from South Asia and the Philippines.

Cultural diversity is also what makes the school rich. At the end-of-year shows put on by the students, Bollywood choreographies mingle with African dance numbers, exemplifies Ange Nanan, 19, who volunteers in the creation of school shows.

“Here, you will never be judged. There are people of all colors, of all ethnicities, ”observes the former student of La Voie.

Find his place

Comedian Sugar Sammy caught the stage virus by participating in the end-of-year shows at La Voie school.

Do his successors know that they are following in the footsteps of an internationally successful comedian? “My dad and I were in front of the TV every time his show [Ces gars-là] was playing! I’ve seen him perform before, too,” exclaims 16-year-old Jessika Pelland. Others, however, were hearing his name for the first time…

But like the comedian, they have found their place through art, be it dance, song or improv.

“From my childhood, I was a shy person. The shows helped me come out of my shell,” says Luke Tracy Miciano, who plays bass and guitar.

“What brings us together is art. The Way may become the next High School Musical ! exclaims Ange, who is himself a singer.

Feel included

We guess it, the students of the La Voie school are not exactly the target audience of a television series like Indefensible Or 5^e rank.

Do they watch Quebec programs? Quebec films? The question elicits nervous laughter. “Almost all of us have immigrant parents. Most of the music I listen to at home is Bollywood music. Quebec culture is not really part of my culture,” replies Protiti Tarafder, 16.

To be interested in it, they must also recognize themselves in it. French is often the second language, or even the third language, that they have learned to speak. Some of them find themselves more in the Anglophone culture, which is often more diversified.

“Do you know a person on television who speaks French that you can identify with? Asks Ashley Patricia Mioko Tshishiku to her comrades. ” No ! they answer almost in unison.

Jessika Pelland, the only one of Quebec origin at the table, is particularly critical of the closure of the industry to English-speaking artists: “I think that young people are discouraged from liking French. We feel forced, as if it’s an obligation, a job, to have to learn French,” she laments.

However, the teenager is very fond of Quebec music, like Les Colocs.

With other students from the school, she formed a music group, called The Show Continues In January. The formation has already written seven songs and is working on a first album. “The rest of my group is not French speaking, so we do a lot of music in English. We know very well that at some point, if we continue, someone will ask us: “Why don’t you do anything in French?” “, she lets go.