Melanie Hamrick talks about her book ‘The Unraveling’

Melanie Hamrick. Photo Credit: Andres de Lara.

Celebrity ballerina-turned author Melanie Hamrick chatted about her new book “The Unraveling,” which was released on August 13 via Berkley. She is the partner of Sir Mick Jagger of The Rolling Stones.

The synopsis is: This book follows a scrappy young ballerina from rural America, who is catapulted into the tumultuous London ballet scene. Forced to make dubious decisions as a means of survival, she becomes consumed by the powerful rush of having everything she ever dreamed of professionally.

Inspiration to write this book

On her inspiration to write “The Unraveling,” she said, “I really loved Jocelyn’s character in my first novel, First Position, so I knew I wanted to explore her more. I also wanted to share a side of the ballet world that many people don’t know about.”

“A lot of ballet companies especially in the US rely on private funding I wanted to share that and how it can affect a dancer,” she added.

Writing: A cathartic process for Hamrick

Hamwrick acknowledged that writing this book was a cathartic process. “Especially the ballet scenes. I write ballet scenes how I would dance them. Some of the roles my characters dance I didn’t have the opportunity to and I got to live vicariously through them dancing a role,” she explained.

Lessons learned from writing this book

On the lessons learned from writing this book, she shared, “I learned that it’s okay to make mistakes and go through hard times. That is what helps us find our happiness.”

Regarding the idea for the book’s title, she revealed, “It’s a bit of a giveaway —Jocelyn’s life spirals a bit out of control and I think a beautiful way to say spiral is unravel. Unravel reminds me of a ballet ribbon coming undone.”

“There was also the option of second position, but I didn’t want readers to think it was a sequel and that they would need to read First Position to be able to follow this novel,” she added.

The digital age

On being a ballerina and author in the digital age, Hamrick said, “I find it quite overwhelming! Not to sound old but when I was a ballet student and in my first years as a ballerina at American Ballet Theater, you just focused on your craft and perfecting it.”

“Now, it’s all about self-advertising and not only being an artist but a content creator. At the end of a long rehearsal day or performance it’s like ‘ok time to do something cool to put online.’ Social media has really changed us,” she noted.

“It has become about how many followers one has or how cool their ballet outfits are or how many turns can someone do. I also always struggled a bit sharing my personal life because people are harsh critics, so to have everything out there all the time can be difficult,” she elaborated.

“I would have loved to have the confidence to post more. I’m trying to overcome it as an author but I still have a hard time with it,” she admitted.

“Social media is so important to selling and promoting your work but it’s like ok, you’ve accomplished this major goal and published a book but now you need to figure out creative ways to advertise it,” she acknowledged.

“I have no idea how TikTok works but I would love to join the ‘BookTok’ world,” she exclaimed. “I would love to have the confidence to share more online without the worry of online critics.”

Defining moments in her life

On her defining moments, she remarked, I think having my son was the biggest changing point. I had someone and something more important in my life other than ballet.”

“My performances improved because I didn’t over analyze I just went out on stage and had a great time,” she added.

Advice for young and emerging authors and ballerinas

For young and aspiring authors and ballerinas, she said, “Believe in yourself. If you don’t, why should others? It’s your life work and go for the one you want.”

Success

Hamrick equates success with “happiness.” “I think success and I think of being happy and proud of myself,” she said. “When I would have a great show or just write something exactly how I was imagining and I’m so happy about it and I find that that is success.”

“Doing something I love and feeling proud and good about it. I am so lucky to have had that with ballet and now with writing. There is always room to grow and improve but try to find the moments to be proud of yourself and happy for yourself,” she explained.