Math, science and mad moves: Winnipeg teacher dreams of dance greatness

Roley Leysonhas a secret identity.

By day, the Winnipeg teacher takes his Grade 9 students through the paces of mathematics and science. By night, he gets his groove on as a hip hop, house, salsa, soul and you-name-itdancer.

"Sometimes as a teacher, we can't always be our authentic self but one thing I feel as I dance, I get to show the world who Roley is," said Leyson, a teacher atMaples Collegiate in the city's northwest.

While his day job satisfies his love of helping young people learn, dance holds his heart.

Leyson's dream? To start his own dance studio.

"What I love about dance? It allows me to explore feelings, different characters to express how I feel, the creativity I have," he said.

Leyson isnow the subject of a short video by students in theCreate programat Sisler High School in Winnipeg. The post-high school program trains students in the creative digital arts, including filmmaking.

Create students Cyrhyl Zamora,18, Chaira Plaga,18, Laura Marie Carandang,19, and JasseyBombitaGalatierra, 18,produced the new video.

The short videowas produced as part of CBC Manitoba's Project POV: Sisler Create, an ongoing video storytelling collaboration.

Meet the filmmakers

Cyrhyl Zamora has always had a passion for creation. She loves painting, sculpting, writing and photography.

After being introduced to filmmaking in high school, she discovered a new passion. She uses her comfort with cameras and photography to capture her vision. She wants to continue to perfect her skills of filmmaking and storytelling to elevate the quality of her work.

Jassey Bombita Galatierra is a St. John's High School graduate and joined Sisler Create to pursue her love of filmmaking, photography and editing. In her free time, sheenjoys listening to music, watching K-dramas (Korean TV shows), dancing and playing games.

Laura Marie Carandang is sociable and hard-working. She loves filmmaking and editing. She has been editing videos since 2016 as a hobby. Laura enjoys going out, dancing, and playing video games in her free time.

Chaira Plaga is a Sisler High School graduate with a motion design and graphic design background. Taking VFX in the last year sparked an interest in cinematography.

Now, Plaga wants to discover her potential in film production. Happy to be part of Sisler's Post High Film cohort this year, she is excited to discover her other talents. In her free time she likes cleaning, listening to music, and taking pictures of absolutely anything.

More about Project POV: Sisler Create

CBC Manitoba's Project POV: SislerCreate is a storytelling collaboration that partners filmmaking students with CBCManitoba journalists to produce short docs. The collaboration is in its second year. You can see past projects here.

Over several weeks in the fall of 2023, CBC journalists taught storytelling to filmmaking studentsand led producing workshopsat theCreate program at Sisler High School.

The post-high school programfocuseson education and career pathways into the creative industries. Students can take courses in animation, film, game design, visual effects, graphic design and interactive digital media.