Thread: I need your opinions! - Searching for a suitable stage (sur-)name-

Hi every body!

It have a about the same question as angelicadances has in her very similar thread "stage surnames ??".

It´s has never been important to me, to have an arabic soundig stage name up to now.
But now i start advertising me as as a dancer, which means i´ll create a website and flyers and so on...
So i thought about asking the kind community of bhuzzers for their opinion.

I live in Germany and almost every bellydancer here has choosen an arabic stage name.
I really like my original name "Verena" (which is an italian name, i think), but it seems that the german audience prefers an oriental name, to keep things more mysterious or exotic or what else.

So i looked up some baby-name forums and found these names i liked:

Aviva (means spring)

Fatinah (means captivating, not sure)

Zaafirah (means victorious)

Now i would like to know you opinions a nice combination:
Maybe "Aviva Fatinah" or just "Aviva" or "Verena Aviva", "Verena Zaafirah"?
Please tell me what you think!

For reference:
some pictures, i hope link works..

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...9&l=9323f4c85d

I like that you are considering keeping your own name which is lovely and exotic in its own right, Out of the 3 I prefer Verena Aviva, I think the Zaafirah with Verena is too much of a mouthful.

Did you see this page of names? http://www.sudairy.com/arabic/fem.html There are some nice names there.

Is Verena a common name in your area? It would certainly make you stand out here in the NE US - I don't think I've ever heard it before.

If you're sure just "Verena" won't work, I like "Verena Aviva".

Great link, thank you!

Verena isn´t espezially unusual in my Region, but for sure not one of the most frequent.
Thanks for your advice! Want to hear some further opinions!

I don't care for Verena paired with another 3-syllable name ending in an "ah" sound.

I think the name would have a more appealing sound paired with a surname of one or two syllables and that doesn't end in "ah." For instance, one local dancer I know uses the surname, Abir. So, what about something like "Verena Abir"?

I recommend you choose just one of the names. Each one can stand alone. Combining them with 'Verena' is too much. Aviva or Zaafirah sound really nice to the ear. I wouldn't go with Fatinah b/c it sounds too close to Fatimah.

Originally Posted by CalgaryBibi

I don't care for Verena paired with another 3-syllable name ending in an "ah" sound.

I think the name would have a more appealing sound paired with a surname of one or two syllables and that doesn't end in "ah." For instance, one local dancer I know uses the surname, Abir. So, what about something like "Verena Abir"?

I was thinking about that fact, too, but i couldn´t find something with less syllables that sounds"right" for me yet.

Originally Posted by Narghes

I recommend you choose just one of the names. Each one can stand alone. Combining them with 'Verena' is too much. Aviva or Zaafirah sound really nice to the ear. I wouldn't go with Fatinah b/c it sounds too close to Fatimah.

You may be right! I still like Aviva very much...
I found out it is an hebrew. word. Could that be a problem?

Originally Posted by indigoapricot

You may be right! I still like Aviva very much...
I found out it is an hebrew. word. Could that be a problem?

At the time I originally chose "Shira" as a stage name, I didn't know that it meant "song" in Hebrew and is used as a Jewish woman's name. I learned that 15 years later!

I'm not aware of it causing any issues for me with Arabs, but then there's no way of knowing whether prospective clients chose a different dancer because of my name.

If I had it to do over, I'd choose a dance name more closely related to my real name. But at this point, "Shira" has become my brand name marketing-wise, and I don't want the turmoil of teaching the worldwide dance community to start referring to me as Julianna!

Well, with regard to Hebrew names.

It troubles me that a Hebrew name would be a "problem."

Originally Posted by Elibelinde

Well, with regard to Hebrew names.

It troubles me that a Hebrew name would be a "problem."

Honestly, ANY name can pose a potential problem. It's just that different names entail different issues.

If I market myself as "Julie the belly dancer" some customers who are looking to buy the fantasy won't hire me because my name won't sound exotic enough to them.

If I market myself as "Gawaher" or "Jawahir" (which is Arabic for "jewel", and some people in my non-dance life call me "Jewel" as a nickname for "Julie") then generic Americans won't know how to pronounce it and will have trouble remembering it. Arabs will think it's odd that a blue-eyed blonde white girl without a drop of Arab blood is calling herself by the same name as a famous Nubian pop singer. Generic Americans who have racist anti-Arab ideas may be put off by an Arab-sounding name.

If I market myself as "Jasmine", the market will confuse me with a zillion other Jasmines out there.

I think it's a good idea to think through the pros and cons of any dance name you may be contemplating, whether it's Hebrew, Arabic, or something else.

I'd say it depends on how much you want to focus on a specific style (Usually you try to match the ethnicity to the name, if you're specializing), what sorts of audiences you expect to dance for (Ethnic audiences are more likely to pick up that sort of discontinuity than Western dancers), and a number of other factors, some of which are not apparent to foreigners (Does the name carry negative cultural baggage?).

One issue I don't think has been mentioned yet would be if you are expecting to specialize in an Arabic dance style, and you come back in a while asking for someone to show you how to write your dance name in Arabic script for your business graphics. Arabic does not have a native "v" sound. There is a way to represent it, but not all keyboard maps support that letter form, and people usually just improvise by substituting another letter that sounds close, like faa ("f") or baa ("b"). If that sort of glitch bothers you, it's not the right name.

Personally, I wouldn't use a Hebrew name unless it made sense in terms of my own real-life heritage, or I intentionally wanted to call attention to it by fusing in Israeli elements, specializing in the cultural arts of minority Jewish communities in Arab countries (like the Jews in Yemen), or making an overt political statement.

Originally Posted by Tourbeau

I'd say it depends on how much you want to focus on a specific style (Usually you try to match the ethnicity to the name, if you're specializing), what sorts of audiences you expect to dance for (Ethnic audiences are more likely to pick up that sort of discontinuity than Western dancers), and a number of other factors, some of which are not apparent to foreigners (Does the name carry negative cultural baggage?).

One issue I don't think has been mentioned yet would be if you are expecting to specialize in an Arabic dance style, and you come back in a while asking for someone to show you how to write your dance name in Arabic script for your business graphics. Arabic does not have a native "v" sound. There is a way to represent it, but not all keyboard maps support that letter form, and people usually just improvise by substituting another letter that sounds close, like faa ("f") or baa ("b"). If that sort of glitch bothers you, it's not the right name.

Personally, I wouldn't use a Hebrew name unless it made sense in terms of my own real-life heritage, or I intentionally wanted to call attention to it by fusing in Israeli elements, specializing in the cultural arts of minority Jewish communities in Arab countries (like the Jews in Yemen), or making an overt political statement.

Tourbeau, generally I agree with much of what you say but in this case, I'm gonna call BS.

Hebrew words, language, philosophy and heritage have profoundly affected our entire culture - Western culture as well as well as Middle Eastern.

The language itself is often very beautiful - a name like "Aviva" or "Shira" for example just sounds beautiful and they have beautiful meanings, universal meanings.

Indeed by limiting Hebrew names to specific cultures and/or political statements - ok I'm gonna stop now.

Hallo Verena,

I'm also a German native speaker. For me "Aviva" is reminiscent of "qué viva (Espana)". You're bound to hear this from the clients: Aviva Espana and so on - could get boring...

I like rather short names that wouldn't sound too theatrical but still be evocative. Amar is one of my faves...I know it's too frequent, though...

I didn't say it wasn't a pretty name, or that it wouldn't be a lovely choice for a daughter, or a new plant cultivar, or a beautiful animal. I made two different points.

One, if it matters to you to have a name that you can write in Arabic script, this isn't a good choice because there is no "v" in the standard Arabic alphabet. "Veronica," "Valentina," and 'Vivienne" also don't lend themselves well to Arabic transcription.

Two, if it matters to you to establish a reputation as a dedicated ethnic style of dancer, it makes sense to stay within that realm when you are picking a new stage name specifically for that application. I think it counts against your credibility if you choose a name from outside that boundary, when there is no substantial personal, historical, or artistic reason for doing so. IMHO, "I like the sound of it" isn't enough justification to counterbalance the larger ramifications of going off the board in defiance of the culture you're claiming to represent.

If you want to do fusion, or you don't care what anyone thinks, then pick any name you like, but if you're going to pull a second name out of thin air, AND you want to be respected as a conscientious expert on somebody else's culture, choose something that makes natives feel you're representing them accurately and honorably. Generally speaking, you do not honor one culture by favoring their enemy over them, and I suspect this is how using a Hebrew name would feel to many Arabs, Turks, and Persians. (FWIW, this isn't an anti-Semitic thing. If you dream of dancing someday in Cairo, I wouldn't recommend a name that was uniquely Turkish or Persian, either. There is no shortage of neighbor-hating ill will to go around in the ME.)

Thank you ladies for your comments!
I´ve decided to keep my real name as dance-name! It´s better this way, then to search a stage name in a hurry.