Jackson Gormley was only 12 years old when he realized he had to choose between his friends and ballet.
“[People] taunted me about the fact that I danced,” Jackson, now 20 and studying ballet at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, tells The Post. “They’d ask me to do a turn when we were hanging out, and then make fun of it.”
It was painful, too, for his dad Scott Gormley to watch the outgoing seventh-grader curl in on himself.
“It seemed very strange to us,” says the Long Island father of three, who shoots commercials for a living. He couldn’t understand why something his son loved so much had such a devastating effect on his social life — so he did some research. He was horrified to learn that bullying was a problem for 96 percent of men and boys who dance.
“When you hear the staggering numbers, you realize it’s a systemic problem,” Scott says.
That gut-punch moment inspired Scott to make a documentary about the stigmas male dancers face. His film “Danseur,” named for the ballet term for a male dancer, has racked up awards at international film-festival screenings and makes its New York City debut at Lincoln Center on Friday.
The doc features more than 20 boys and men, ranging from young hopefuls to esteemed dancers at the American Ballet Theatre, the Boston Ballet and the Houston Ballet. Like Jackson, they’ve all endured alienation from their peers — and some have dealt with even heavier experiences, including physical violence and total ostracism from their families.
“These are career dancers who have reached the pinnacles of their careers, and they still don’t have that parental support,” Scott says. “It’s just heartbreaking.”
For most of the film’s subjects, their problems boil down to the assumption — true or not — that a desire to dance means they’re gay. Because homophobia is still so prevalent, that perception can create serious rifts within relationships, Scott says.
That was true for Jackson in middle school. “People would say things about my sexuality and would just assume that’s the way I was,” he says. While he has since come out as gay, “at the time, I didn’t even know if I was . . . so it was confusing and upsetting.”
Although Jackson was the inspiration for the film and appears in a few quick cutaways of him pirouetting around New York City, he’s not among the interview subjects. “I didn’t want the film to be about him,” Scott says. “His story is typical and I thought it would be better served if I told it through the other dancers.”
Jackson agrees. “This story is much bigger than mine,” he says. “[My experience] was hard, but it’s only made me stronger.”
“It’s incredible to see him move and the passion that he brings to it,” Scott says. “When I see him dance, there’s a pride that just wells up inside because that’s my child bringing this beautiful piece of art to the stage.”
“Danseur” screens at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza on Friday at 7:30 p.m. For more information, go to DanseurMovie.com.