0:02  
For the first time in the National Ballet School's 60 years more boys and girls are graduating from the school. 16 boys and 11 girls have successfully made it through the professional training program. John Taylor is a fourth year performance dance student at Ryerson University and was part of what he considers the first group of boys to come in after the Billy Elliot effect started. He started at the National Ballet School in 2009, when he was 10 years old.

0:26  
The years that the Billy Elliot effect was really, you know, shaping and people look up to those years, it's my years.

0:35  
Although the musical did not have an effect on why Taylor went into dance, the movie did have a huge impact on his life as a boy in ballet.

0:43  
I never think about it, but maybe it helped me continue dancing. When I look back, probably, you know, it's probably one of the movies I've watched the most as a child and even up to today. Because it's one of these like, emotional roller coaster movies, but also it's like, you know, you look up to it as a boy because you're like, this little boy can do it, I can too.

1:05  
Taylor's decision and journey with dancing has not always been easy.

1:08  
I never really talked about it too much, because I knew from experience of talking about it that people wouldn't accept you. 

1:17  
For a while he even purposely hid the fact that he did dance from the rest of the people he knew.

1:22  
Being a boy from small town, dancing, I just kind of kept it almost secret. It's like this other life I had.

1:31  
At that time dance was still seen as hyper feminine and coming from Port Hope, a small town in Ontario,Taylor grappled with the challenges of choosing ballet over hockey,

1:40  
Being from a small town, where if you didn't play hockey, you were you know, a little bit different than everyone. So being the boy who, who danced instead of played hockey, there was definitely a difference. Or, you know, everyone kind of didn't necessarily look at you the same.

2:08  
Once he got to NBS, however, things changed for him for the better.

2:12  
At NBS, it was, you're there to dance so it was accepted. And it was, it was it was as normal as a girl being there dance because everyone's there to dance. So then going to a school that was you're there to dance was it's very beneficial for a boy because the judgment isn't there and your focus is to dance.

2:44  
Every year in Toronto alone, about 100 dancers graduate from professional dance schooling. However, instead of being scared at the influx of competition, Taylor is excited to see it.

2:56  
The majority is still women, but the number of men really getting up there. And I I don't want to say I'm scared, but I'm excited because you know it, for so long it was a female dominated. Now that we've got this male group coming in, it's exciting. 

3:20  
With more conversations opening up about gender fluidity and androgyny, Taylor has noticed a decrease in gender role stereotypes being enforced in dance projects.

3:29  
I think a lot of companies now don't even look at it, you know, gender as part of it. Like in my work, I cast people based on their ability and stuff not, you know, I want five women, five men. I think you have to diversify yourself to be successful these days. You can't just stick to one thing.

3:55  
This year, more boys are graduating from Canada's National Ballet school than girls. This can be seen as a beacon of hope for breaking down barriers when it comes to what is defined as masculine and feminine, strong and weak, creating an intersection between artistry and athletics. Joel Taylor will be graduating from Ryerson University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a focus in dance. And as a lifelong male dancer, he has one final bit of advice for parents whose boys are interested in dancing.

4:25  
I would say just let them do it. Let them figure it out, because they may run into you know, obstacles of people making fun of them. It is the best thing that's ever happened to me. You just gotta let the kid try.