Megan Fairchild's The Ballerina Mindset

[BalanchineFan]

I watched nearly all of Megan Fairchild's Conversations with Megan on YouTube over the pandemic, so I was excited to hear that she'd written a book. The book was inspired, at least in part, by a podcast she was doing a few years ago, Ask Megan. This woman doesn't let any grass grow under her feet! Her new book, The Ballerina Mindset: How to Protect Your Mental Health While Striving for Excellence, uses anecdotes from her career to illustrate ten mental health challenges and ways to improve our outlook and deal with these issues. It's a quick read, 160 pages in paperback, and well worth reading, in my opinion. Her sense of humor and her personal growth really come through. The lessons themselves are universal and can be of use to anyone trying to get ahead in a competitive field (Facing Anxiety, Embracing [Your] Uniqueness, Handling Feedback, etc) . There are still a lot of ballet stories, which really satisfied this balletomane. 

 

Edited December 12, 2021 by BalanchineFan
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[dirac]

Thank you, BalanchineFan, this does look interesting, if only for the ballet anecdotes. I've enjoyed the "Conversations with Megan." 

A Good Morning America segment on the book.

[On Pointe]

Megan Fairchild was on The View this morning,  dancing the Sugar Plum Fairy's solo,  minus the coda.  The Nutcracker Prince and Marie were on as swell,  although they didn't dance.  Fairchild looked terrific - hard to believe she has given birth to twins recently.  That's  the good part.  The bad part is that they were introduced as "dancers from the New York City Ballet"  and not credited by name.  The lighting and the camera angles weren't the best for ballet,  and Fairchild was crammed into a tiny space.  The ugly part is that they were shoehorned into a commercial for Pandora jewelry.  But they got ballet on the air.  (The Covid-era Marie and Prince were as tall as the SPF.). I hope they have Fairchild back as a guest host,  especially since she has a new book out.  With any luck,  or showbiz savvy,  her reps should be working that angle.

[Lauren]

I found it disappointing- it would have been much better to have more positive ballet stories (we desperately need those- especially from someone who has enjoyed a dream career) and less of a self- help feel. It also felt written at more of a YA level, but that could have been the intent, of course. But overall a nice book, especially for young dancers.

[Balletwannabe]

44 minutes ago, Lauren said:

I found it disappointing- it would have been much better to have more positive ballet stories (we desperately need those- especially from someone who has enjoyed a dream career) and less of a self- help feel. It also felt written at more of a YA level, but that could have been the intent, of course. But overall a nice book, especially for young dancers.

I haven't read it I just gave it to my 15-year-old daughter.  Mental health is something that student dancers are talking about a lot more because of social media.  I wouldn't be surprised if she wrote it with students in mind.  When I saw the title I assumed it was a self-help kind of book.

Edited December 17, 2021 by Balletwannabe

[canbelto]

I read the book. It reads a bit like a corporate self-help book. Which is ... fine, but I would have liked more insight. I felt like her YT interviews with dancers showed a more candid side to Megan. It was a very quick read.

[BalanchineFan]

On 12/17/2021 at 2:30 PM, Lauren said:

I found it disappointing- it would have been much better to have more positive ballet stories (we desperately need those- especially from someone who has enjoyed a dream career) and less of a self- help feel. It also felt written at more of a YA level, but that could have been the intent, of course. But overall a nice book, especially for young dancers.

I'm surprised to hear that you didn't find the ballet stories positive. Could you give an example? Or do you mean you wanted more ballet stories, period?