Thread: Image Revamp

I'm considering doing a bit of an image revamp (on my website, that is).

A lot of people have mentioned that specifying American Cabaret would be a good selling point in the UK, as apparently 'American' equals 'glamour' in some way here. I'm thinking about changing my site around to reflect an 'old Hollywood glamour' type of idea, doing some Theda-Bara-esque photoshoots, and emphasizing the 'old-fashioned American Cabaret' aspect.

I am also considering dropping the last half of my name and spelling it the proper way - Breagha.

Any thoughts or input?

Well I guess if you're going to change your name, then best to do it while your profile is relatively low. But I would think very carefully about such a shift, if it were me.

I am always in favour of names that can't be mispronounced, and I think Breagha is one which has a lot of potential for mispronunciation. But that's just me.

I think the bigger question is, does it accurately reflect WHO YOU ARE as a dancer RIGHT NOW? And if you're not even 95% sure of what that means right now, then that is your best focus right now - figuring out what you can best do and represent right this moment. What really helps to generate interest is not a veneer, but a solid-to-the-core representation of who you are as a dancer, performer, teacher, proven again and again.

Yeap, it takes time to get that build-up in your local community (speaking as someone who has done several major moves in the last decade, and it definitely takes a good 1.5-2 years to get integrated, even if you're internationally-known), but it's so much better to be as accurate as possible, and promote what you know best - vs. what you may think will sell better. Do what you know and what you feel most sincere about, and it will happen.

Hope that helps.

I'd stay away from the Theda Barra style thing - that's rather substantially before the period I would say constitutes Old Fashioned American Cabaret.

American Cabaret is definitely the term I think you want to be using in the UK - because it differentiates you from most other teachers in a way that's still meaningful to most of the community. Vintage Orientale is something they'll never really have heard before, and associating Theda Barra Hollywood Orientalism images with American Cabaret (more widely understood in the UK to be 60's and 70's styling and/or BDSS and in particular Ansuya with floorwork, etc etc) is a little bit vague and confusing - and of course when trying to establish yourself as a brand vagueness is not your friend!

I'm with Bea in as much as changing your name before you get well-established is definitely a good thing. I don't think I could successfully change mine now and I'm not even particularly well-known! However, I do expect pronunciation issues with Breagha - with the majority of most Scots completely unable to speak Gaelic or master most of the basics of pronunciation, it's going to be a head-scratcher even in Scotland. That's probably going to end up causing you as much frustration as being called "Bree" which I assume is happening at the moment?

Still, if that spelling imparts something that is important to you, go for it - just be prepared to perhaps provide a phonetic parenthesis for hafla MC's, etc!

Best of luck!

Thanks for the comments!

Yes, vintage orientale is from the 60s/70s, I was just trying to figure out if there was a way to use the whole 'American=glamour' thing here - and since I'm not very glamorous, nor could use the modern version of Hollywood glamour (as I am not exactly a tiny woman), I thought perhaps going with something that evoked old Hollywood might work better.

Currently I get 'Bray-ah' or 'Bree'. Second name, (pronounced More Jah Nah) nobody seems to know how to say it, so I was considering dropping it altogether. Mispronunciation would also be a problem with spelling Brea the right way, of course.

The thing about saying American Cabaret is that there is a difference between vintage and modern; I do a lot of veil wrap work because Cory Zamora's my teacher, for instance. Maybe 'antique American Cabaret' or something?

As far as who I am as a dancer, teacher, person, etc, here is what I have to work with:

I love vintage orientale, it's my favourite; as a teacher, I am very serious about cultural context, history, and musicality (because I'm a historian and take that sort of thing very seriously). I used to be a street fighter (or ned! ;) speaking of which, they served us Bucks Fizz at the graduation), a traveler/adventurer...now I'm a dancer and teacher, I teach aboard cruise ships (which I love), I specialize in Scottish folklore and Gaelic, Bohemian Paris, and the reign of Louis XIV, and I look more like Theda Bara than Paris Hilton (size and shape wise).

Sooo I am trying to think of a way to work all of these things together into a 'brand', so to speak. There isn't a lot available for teaching/performing currently, even for well-established dancers, and I was thinking perhaps it was time for a revamp to establish my 'product', so to speak. I also sing and direct musicals, so that's been taking up more of my time over the last several months than marketing dance, so I am hoping to use my downtime to work on my image.

First of all, the cruise ship teaching sounds like so much fun. I hope the next cruise I go on has a belly dancer! (My teacher’s teacher used to dance on ships, and I think that would be so much fun.)

How do you pronounce your name? I was thinking it was "Bre-ah." I think having an easy to pronounce name is important because people will feel comfortable saying it. I grew up with a very long and unpronounceable last name, and it drove me and everyone around me crazy. If you want to keep the second part of your name and no one can get it, can you spell it phonetically? I would have never pronounced it correctly!

Just as a student, I would take classes from a teacher who worked the vintage oriental aspect. It seems very glamorous to me, and I can envision you using publicity photos in black and white. Personally, I’m drawn to more of the timeless quality of belly dance as opposed to modern fusion variations. Showcasing your role as a historian would make want to take class from you because I feel like I can trust you as an intellect.

Hmmm....maybe you have a point there. I could focus on the historian aspect.

It is 'Bre-ah' - a phonetic spelling of 'breagha', Scottish Gaelic for 'beautiful'.

For a while I thought about writing the last name 'Morjanah' or something.

I am also drawn to the timelessness aspect, and to just-bellydance rather than fusion.

FWIW: if you dress like Theda Bara, people will think you are a tribal fusion dancer. I had enough trouble with an assuit bedleh. Sucks, but there it is - ask Tempest, everyone assumes she's tribal.

Old Hollywood Glamour isn't actually associated with the silents; it's the golden age of Hollywood cinema, 30s to 60s really. Old Hollywood Glamour is more Dita von Teese than Theda Bara, in truth. 50s would probably be a good time period for you to examine, the looks would be nice on you.

"American Cabaret" continues to evoke what Cory does in my mind, despite Shira's best efforts and Ansuya et all. Ansuya is still closer to that aesthetic and that style than most modern US oriental dancers IMO. I wouldn't worry about people thinking you're going to teach five min choreos to Chicky, it's the same stuff really. Honestly for photo inspiration, look at all the old b/w pix of Dahlena.

You could call it vintage American orientale if you really objected to the cabaret term, I suppose.

ETA: You are a historian but you're not a BD historian... I don't think you should "showcase" it. It's not your USP. It's not what you did your doctorate on. You have no peer-reviewed publications on BD. There are people out there (me among others) who actually have focused our academic work on BD and it's going to get ridiculous if everyone with any kind of degree starts calling themselves a bellydance academic. i know that sounds harsh but I literally recoiled when I saw that. There are a lot of liars out there, don't join their ranks.

Hi Zum,

Oh, I know (regarding the bellydance historian thing) - you and several others, Andrea Deagon also comes to mind - are more what I think of there. I do have an interest in the history, of course, but it's not my specialty - Scotland and France are, broadly. I'm just trying to figure out if I can do something else with what I've got. As in, historians do tend to care a great deal more about accurate representations of anything, which I think is where Karnak was going with that.

(Also, I tried to do a paper on bellydance once, with a Middle Eastern studies prof, and she said she wouldn't let me because it wouldn't be taken seriously - how lame is that?)

I think I back away from the American Cabaret title because of what Shira and others think of the name. I see what you mean re: Theda Bara, as well.

50s stuff might work, though I'm not really one for the new 'pinup' aesthetic.

Originally Posted by rosehips

I think the bigger question is, does it accurately reflect WHO YOU ARE as a dancer RIGHT NOW? And if you're not even 95% sure of what that means right now, then that is your best focus right now - figuring out what you can best do and represent right this moment. What really helps to generate interest is not a veneer, but a solid-to-the-core representation of who you are as a dancer, performer, teacher, proven again and again.

This. You will have to morph several or many times in the future, so give yourself a good solid base for the morphing. Anything else is an impersonation... which is of course a legitimate way of earning a living, but needs to be consciously chosen, I think, not drifted into.

If you know your audience is going to recognize the spelling "Breagha," then it's okay, but if you expect that your business is going to take you into Arab communities, then it might be worth noting that "gh" is the common English transliteration for the throat-rolled "R" in Arabic (the letter "ghayn"). Looking quickly, I can't find any evidence that this combination of letters would make a word in Arabic, but it may confuse them as to how you want the name pronounced.

Brea, your interpretation on what I was trying to say is right. The impression that I get from you is that you are going to be picky about the dance because of your background and education. Lots of dancers mention their experiences in jazz, ballet, or whatever their other interests are in their biographies, so I don’t see any harm in mentioning your academic background. Personally, I want my teachers to be very smart regardless of the topic. Even though I know that academic pursuits don’t always intertwine, I think it says something about the instructor’s character. For example, my dance teacher is a yoga instructor, who is certified enough that she can train other yoga teachers. While I know that yoga is not directly related to belly dance, I am aware that she knows a lot about the human body and that I feel safe under her instruction.

On the Gaelic note, I've mostly seen it spelled "briagh" in Canada (we don't use contemporary Scottish spelling because we have 150+ years of Gaelic publications here with our own standards). Which adds twice as much confusion!

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

If you know your audience is going to recognize the spelling "Breagha," then it's okay, but if you expect that your business is going to take you into Arab communities, then it might be worth noting that "gh" is the common English transliteration for the throat-rolled "R" in Arabic (the letter "ghayn"). Looking quickly, I can't find any evidence that this combination of letters would make a word in Arabic, but it may confuse them as to how you want the name pronounced.

I was thinking this too. If you're trying to select a name/spelling that will work for you going forward, I'd say give some thought not only to where you are now, but where you may want to go in the future. "Breagha" may be recognizable in Scottland (?? I haven't any idea whether that's true), but if you come back to the US at some point, you'll hear it mangled worse than the "Bree" you get from a lot of Americans now. And if you think you'll eventually be dealing with Arabs...wow...pronouncing Breagha as Arabic sound transliteration, it's not pretty. It came out a bit like a grunting, choking sound you might expect an old man to make upon waking up from a nap. I'm guessing that's not what you're going for. So...simplicity may be the way to go. Brea, Breeah, or whatever spelling you like.

I also agree with what others have said re: your web image, though. While you should probably think ahead in terms of your name (as it's harder to change the more established you become), the rest...should reflect where you are. It's ok to be a little aspirational in the sense of having good photos, maybe finding a way to hit upon your interests/indicate subtly where you're heading or what your interests are, etc., but you don't have to be decided on everything all at once. One great thing about the web is that, in theory, you can change, update, grow, revamp etc. as you and your image evolve.

sounds yummy! go for it!

Brea,

If the 50s pin-up style doesn't work, what about trying something a little more glam. I immediately go a mental image of Marilyn Monroe, a la Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend.

http://roadtodiva.blogspot.com/2008/...d-marilyn.html

Thanks! I do know that 'breagha' is recognized here (and having lived in Cape Breton I also know there are variants). I think I will stick with Brea.

I like the Marilyn idea - I had a friend who was convinced that I should dress like her because she thought I resembled her for some reason.