In addition to performing, Womack, whose life has already been the subject of a 2021 documentary, Joy Womack: The White Swan, has been attending screenings of The American. Written and directed by James Napier Robinson, the film has been shown at the Miami Film Festival and the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, and will soon have been seen in New Zealand. 

The film came about, said Womack, “a long time ago, when I graduated the [Bolshoi] Academy. Somebody approached me, and I didn’t think anything of it. Then, there were so many questions of reselling my life rights, I thought it would die in movie purgatory. When James finally contacted me and went through this long period of writing the script—the different spans of my life—when it finally happened, I was back in Russia.”

Womack, who had been assisting directing at the Astrakhan State Opera and Ballet Theatre at the time, elucidated: “I got to be the choreographer, I got to help with casting, I got to do [dance] doubling, and help with costumes. It was such a fun project. I enjoyed it immensely. It [screened] in Palm Springs and went well. There was a whole bunch of wonderful questions, and it was special for me to get to share my story.”

Another thing Womack is sharing—in a huge way—is her mission to provide high-quality, accessible dance with audiences around the world. To that end, Womack has donned an entrepreneurial hat and formed a trio of organizations: The non-profit Joy Womack Ballet Foundation, which offers scholarships, mentoring and international opportunities, the Joy Womack Ballet Company, and the Joy Womack Ballet Academy.

All three, explained the dancer, “work interchangeably. I got the idea for the Foundation last year, and obviously it takes a lot of time, effort and money to apply for a 501c3, but we got ours on April 10. The mission is to help bridge the gap between talent and opportunity. We do everything, [including] paying for peoples’ visas, plane tickets, studying costs, living expenses.

“When I was a young dancer,” she recalled, “there were many times in my life that I didn’t have enough money, and doors seemed to be closed. It was miraculous when somebody came to my rescue. That’s what I wanted the foundation to be.”

This includes partnering with the Del York Academy in Lagos, Nigeria, one of Africa’s leading institutions in capacity building in the creative sector. “We’ll be helping to provide them with a dance curriculum, as well as working closely with the teachers and students to empower them and help them grow.”

 If anybody knows a thing or two about ballet galas—at least from the performance perspective—it’s Womack, who is producing her very first on July 7 in Bielefeld, Germany. Dubbed, what else, “The Joy of Dance,” it will feature colleagues including Denis Veginiy of the Dresden Semper Opera Ballet, Boris Zhurilov (currently with Hungarian National Ballet, he also performed on the “Reunited in Dance” concert), Womack, and others.

And while she danced with Paris Opera Ballet at the beginning of 2023, but wasn’t offered a permanent contract, Womack chose not to remain with the troupe. “I would have loved to stay with them, but I turned 30, and the beginning level [dancers] were 17 and 18. It was a great experience, I loved it, but I was 10 years too late. This is why,” she added, “I’m freelance.

“I’m so grateful for my path, my journey,” added Womack, who recently danced two full-length performances of “Swan Lake” with Brussels International Ballet.