Behind the Red Velvet Curtain: An American Ballerina in Russia

(Hardback)

---

Publishing Details

Classifications

Physical Properties

Description

In 2012 Joy Womack made history when she became the first American ballerina to sign a contract with the Bolshoi Ballet Theater in Moscow, Russia.
Dancing in Moscow was not the Onion Dome fairy tale shed hoped for. The Bolshoi and its school were filled with cutthroat competition, acts of violence, and coaches who encouraged obsessive devotion. They sent her on stage with broken bones, helped her forge immigration paperwork, and encouraged her to toe a dangerous political line - all for the privilege of dancing on one of the world's most storied stages.
As Joys career took off and she made a name for herself in the Russian ballet world, she had to face a hard choice. Were the growing dangers of a professional lifestyle descending into corruption worth the realization of her life's dream

Reviews

This peek inside what it takes to become a Russian ballet dancer will inspire appreciation for Womacks dogged determination to achieve her dream. * Library Journal *
Raw and real about the demands of ballet, the politicization of culture in Putins Russia, the corruption at the Bolshoi, and the risks to body, to mind of chasing placement and promotion. -- Simon Morrison, author of Bolshoi Confidential

A vulnerable, generous memoir. From Evangelical churches in Texas to hospitals in Moscow and the halls of the Bolshoi, Joy Womack offers fascinating insights into the many cloistered worlds she has traversed.

-- Alice Robb, author of Don't Think, Dear: On Loving and Leaving Ballet
Vivid, compelling, fascinating, candid, unique, and exceptionally well written and presented, Behind the Red Velvet Curtain is the simply riveting life story of Joy Womack and her experiences living and working in Russia as a professional ballerina for the world famous Bolshoi Ballet theater in Moscow . . . Of special and particular interest to fans of ballet and soviet culture, this deftly crafted and articulate memoir is a highly recommended pick for community and college/university library Contemporary American Biography/Memoir collections. * Midwest Book Review *

Author Bio

Joy Womack is a ballerina, currently working at the Paris Opera. She has a combined social media following of approximately 75,000 across all platforms, was featured in a 2021 independent documentary,Joy Womack: The White Swan, and is also the subject of a biopic film,Joika, set to premiere in 2023. Her story has been followed by news outlets around the world, includingThe New York Times,The Moscow Times,Reuters,Time Magazine, theL.A. Times,NBC News.

Elizabeth Shockman is a public radio journalist based in Minnesota with nationally and internationally published work atNPR,PRI,MPR,Reuters,The Moscow Times,BBC, andmany other publications. Elizabeth met Joy while working for Reuters in Moscow and has spent more than 12 years interviewing her for this book.