The Ballerina Mindset, Megan Fairchild
The Ballerina Mindset, Megan Fairchild
11 Rating(s)
List: $15.00 | Sale: $10.50
Club: $7.50

The Ballerina Mindset
How to Protect Your Mental Health While Striving for Excellence

Author: Megan Fairchild

Narrator: Megan Fairchild

Unabridged: 3 hr

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 12/07/2021


Synopsis

Learn how to thrive in intense, competitive environments with these secrets from one of America's premiere ballerinas--and get a sneak peek at what her life is really like.

Ballet may look glamorous and effortless to audience members, but it requires grueling discipline. It's a competitive and physically and mentally demanding career that combines elite athleticism, artistry, and performance. Not only do dancers rehearse for six to eight hours a day before performing at night, but they also must make it all look easy!

As a principal ballerina with New York City Ballet and a one-time Broadway star--not to mention a mother of three and an MBA student--Megan Fairchild is all too familiar with these challenges. In The Ballerina Mindset, she shares all the wisdom she's learned from her nearly two-decade career, drawing upon her own experiences to show us how she learned to overcome challenges ranging from stage fright to negative feedback to a packed calendar to weight management--and how we can do the same. Inspiring, warm, and revelatory, The Ballerina Mindset is the perfect how-to guide for dancers, athletes, artists, and anyone struggling to stay sane in a high-pressure environment.

About The Author

Megan Fairchild is a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. After moving from Utah to New York City at the age of sixteen to study ballet full-time, she was offered an apprenticeship with NYCB, and was promoted to principal--the highest rank--just three years later. In 2014, she took a temporary leave from NYCB to play the lead role, Miss Turnstiles, in the Broadway musical On the Town. She is also the host of the YouTube series Coversations with Megan, a former brand ambassador for Cole Haan, and an MBA student at NYU's Stern School of Business.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ashley on December 25, 2021

This book is short and graceful. The advice is simple, and solid advice- even for those of us who are not dancers. There is a fair amount of humble-bragging, but Ms. Fairchild has earned her place both on the stage and on the shelf.......more

Goodreads review by Ruth on June 04, 2021

Megan Fairchild, principal ballerina with New York City Ballet, presents several chapters on preserving one's emotional and mental health while living in the demanding world of professional dance. A few dancers with both American Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet have written memoirs recently.......more

Goodreads review by Rosemary on June 07, 2022

"No matter what we do for a living, we are all more than our work. And as an artist, I am more than just my art. I am also more than just a mom. I don't feel I need to be completely defined by either title."......more

Goodreads review by Zibby on March 02, 2022

Megan Fairchild is a principal ballerina with New York City Ballet, a Broadway star, a mother of three, and an MBA student. This book chronicles all the challenges she has faced around weight, grueling exercise schedules, expectations, and criticism. She gives tips on dealing with the pressure of be......more

Goodreads review by Danielle on January 21, 2022

Not much value added here.......more


Quotes

“Encouraging and full of common-sense advice, Fairchild's book will help readers trying to fulfill their true potential. Even those who aren't pursuing ballet will find it helpful.”
—Library Journal

“A compendium of hard-won wisdom . . . Fairchild provides type A readers eminently practical and practiced advice for dancing ahead in life without the drama.”
—Publishers Weekly

“Fairchild has struggled with anxiety, self-doubt, and the crush of external criticism. She discusses all of this, and more, with wit, openness, and a bracing straightforwardness in this slim, well-written volume of essay-like chapters, in which she confronts both the challenges and the rewards of being a dancer at one of the world’s great ballet companies.”
—Fjord Review