Thread: Struggling with Dance Name

OK, so I picked a dance name years back, but I stopped using it after I heard my name announced at an event, and all I could think was that it sounded like a name for a butter substitute. So, I have been thinking ever since that I probably need a dance name, but I just haven't been able to get comfortable with having a stage name at all, much less an Arabic stage name. My first name is Paula, and my middle name is Eva. Paula is, as one baby name book I have called it "WWII-era stale and musty." Lovely, huh? Would Eva work? Or do I just need to get over it and pick an Arabic name and go with it?

Thanks!

Eva works for Eva Cernik. If you go with Eva, which is a beautiful name, maybe you could add a second name to distinguish you from her? Eva Luna is the name of a heroine in a novel by Isabelle Allende, you could "borrow" it or choose something else that has a nice sound to it. You'll want to have a name you like so you feel good about your dance persona. And not like margarine..l;,

Hey, I just looked at your personal profile and I like what you have to say about yourself, your style and your attitude towards costuming ("Gets me where I want to go.") I feel a kindred spirit there. Wanna be friends? (I sent you a friends request).

What language is luna, spanish? It means moon, right? Amar is in Egyptian dialect and Qamar in fusha for moon. Eva Amar sounds nice. Depending your style which language will work you best.

Originally Posted by outi

What language is luna, spanish? It means moon, right? Amar is in Egyptian dialect and Qamar in fusha for moon. Eva Amar sounds nice. Depending your style which language will work you best.

Ooooooooooh! I like that! Eva Amar! That may be a keeper! :)

Originally Posted by outi

What language is luna, spanish? It means moon, right? Amar is in Egyptian dialect and Qamar in fusha for moon. Eva Amar sounds nice. Depending your style which language will work you best.

Luna means moon and is Latin.

The way I ended up with a name is after deciding I wanted one, I sent two friends a list from a belly dance name site (a credible one), had them pick a handful of names that they liked that they thought described me. I then compiled a list of those names that I liked, and had several other friends choose.

I ended up with Anisa Meera through that lengthy process.

I'm having a hard time deciding on a name. What factors should I consider in selecting a name? Should it be more traditional (I do mainly Egyptian/Cabaret)? My teacher also suggested that I add a second name, but that the second name should be masculine (she says its more traditional). Should it be? A part of me wants to keep my name (Melissa, or maybe Melina - combo of first and second name), but then again...I kinda like the idea of "being someone else" on stage. Thoughts? Sorry for the long post, but any feedback would be helpful.

hey thats my first name :P

We should band all the Melissas together :) But any performer name advice?

Originally Posted by melina001

We should band all the Melissas together :) But any performer name advice?

Lissa Fakir is the title of a beautiful and famous Egyptian song. I did a quick google search but didn't find a translation, so I'm not sure what Lissa means. But perhaps you could find out more about it, since it is so close to your given name. You could add a second name to it, probably don't want to use Fakir for that part!..l;,

Any Arabic speakers lurking?

I found a lyrics translation for Lissa Fakir. It's a sad song! So maybe Lissa wouldn't work as part of a name.

Lissa Fakir
(Do You Still Remember?)

You believe that my heart will once again trust you
or think you, a beautiful word become those
Past return?
Or that a dear view my longing
again aroused and I to you will be tender?
Do you believe that still?
That is for a long time ago, already for a very long time ago.

At that time spent I mean day with wrong
and many tears. It has to torment fun made for you me.
A beautiful word could have changed that,
but on the contrary, which you said,
destroyed last hope in me.
I remember each word, before you went.
I was fall in love, hurt and sad
and which I went through thereafter
past is for you
you forgot everything.

And today you come with much love,
Longing and tenderness.
You ask legend for me, but I you:
That is for a long time ago, for a long time ago.
Do you believe still?
That is for a long time ago, for a long time ago.

Translator unknown

A very close friend of mine and I gifted each other with our names. We started belly dancing together, and after we'd been doing it for a while we decided to give each other our names. So, my name became Eve (from my first name Evelyn, though I go by Jeannette in that strange nonbellydancing world we call Real Life) and hers became Katya, from Kate. And we both chose the same last name: "Adelfi," meaning "sister" in Greek (though it's spelled differently). Now we're in completely different states doing completely different styles but we always have our shared name to link us!

I do like choosing a name that is from your own name, or similar to it, or from a childhood nickname, or something. I think it's important to get something that's deeply personal rather than something that's just kinda pretty, you know? Much like a tattoo, I'd say. That being said, Eva Amar is lovely. ;-)

'Course, the two-name thing can get confusing ... I tend to go by Eve in Bellydance World and Jeannette in the real one, and then I make friends that cross worlds and get terribly confused by it all. ;-) So I suppose there's something to be said for going by your own name. But I think there's already a bellydancing Jeanette out there (though she spells it wrong! *grin*) so I'll stick with Eve Adelfi. Good luck!

Hasani has a name resource data base here: http://www.hasani.net/

Which ever name you choose, make sure you are completely comfortable introducing yourself as that name. Your dance name should feel as comfortable to you as your own name.
Mine was given to me by my husband, Farhad. There is a really old Iranian tale about Farhad and Shirin, so the two names seemed really natural together. He even introduces me to Iranian people as Shirin. I didn't plan on using it as a dance name at first, but really, Shirin feels as natural to me as my own name, Lana.
Shirin means "sweet" in Farsi.
I really like Eva Amar too. But Eva ending in an A, and Amar starting with an A, I don't know, it doesn't seem to roll off the tounge very well. But still, it is lovely.
Keep us informed, these topics are fun to follow.

Originally Posted by dunyah

I found a lyrics translation for Lissa Fakir. It's a sad song! So maybe Lissa wouldn't work as part of a name.

Lissa Fakir
(Do You Still Remember?)

You believe that my heart will once again trust you
or think you, a beautiful word become those
Past return?
Or that a dear view my longing
again aroused and I to you will be tender?
Do you believe that still?
That is for a long time ago, already for a very long time ago.

At that time spent I mean day with wrong
and many tears. It has to torment fun made for you me.
A beautiful word could have changed that,
but on the contrary, which you said,
destroyed last hope in me.
I remember each word, before you went.
I was fall in love, hurt and sad
and which I went through thereafter
past is for you
you forgot everything.

And today you come with much love,
Longing and tenderness.
You ask legend for me, but I you:
That is for a long time ago, for a long time ago.
Do you believe still?
That is for a long time ago, for a long time ago.

Translator unknown

Yeah, way too sad but thanks for the advice! I'm just having a hard time deciding, and it's too bad I don't speak arabic (or know more people that do).

"Lissa" is an Egyptian/Sudanese word that can mean "still" or "yet" depending on the context. It would be an odd-sounding name to an Arab. I use lissafakir as one of my email addresses (in honor of Ibrahim Farrah, who used to do incredible shimmy improvisations to that song) and it makes everyone think that my first name is Lisa!

Originally Posted by outi

What language is luna, spanish? It means moon, right? Amar is in Egyptian dialect and Qamar in fusha for moon. Eva Amar sounds nice. Depending your style which language will work you best.

Wow Outi, that is awesome. It's a perfect name, what a great suggestion.

I do fancy the Arabic 'surname' style of dance name, it seems more official somehow. Though of course being identified by a single name is cool too... "Dina" "Morocco" "Amani"

I got mine from an Egyptian family friend as a nick name for Amanda. He and his family calls me Nanda and I am Nanda online. But because I have been dancing since a teen as 'Amanda' I have never actually got around to using it as a dance name; though I'd love to 'cause it's so cute.


Gotraqs please use Eva Amar, it is a perfectly delicious name

Originally Posted by outi

What language is luna, spanish? It means moon, right? Amar is in Egyptian dialect and Qamar in fusha for moon. Eva Amar sounds nice. Depending your style which language will work you best.

I think Eva Amar is a beautiful name ..g.:

Me, too! Very surprisingly, because I never invent or make any nice phrases or names for shows or anything. I even surprised myself!

Lissa is "still!, "yet" just like Melina wrote earlier in Egyptian dialect.
Fakir is "remember" for male. I think it could mean both "Do you still remember?" or "I still remember." depending of the situation and intonation. I'm not sure about the meaning in the song.

By the way...
In Egypt (I don't know about the other MED/Arabic countries) the names are made very easily.
Given name, the first one, is given for the baby and depends of course from the sex of the baby.
All the names after the first one are always male, they come from the father.
Women, when they marry, don't take husbands name. They change their name after the first child and after the first boy - so do some men, too. The latter might depend about the area, where the father is living, the economical level or the person they are talking to. I don't know. I only read about father addressed as Abu Mohammed, but I rarely meet any Abu's. Maybe they do that more in countryside or among lower class people nowadays. Or maybe because I'm not family and usually have only business contacts, I have other name for the man than his family and friends. I really don't know. I have to ask around and find out. Mother's name is completely different issue. It's part of the virtue and protection of the woman and protection of family honor to not really talk about the name of the mother. And same time there is pride of the babies and the woman, who has children.


How ever some people are known with an explanation about the person. Sorry I can't remember right English word now. For example Mohammed Ahmar (red), because he had this really read hear (and this is because he is from Suez), or Ramzy el Copt, because he is Coptic etc. Dancer Liza Laziza means Liza the Beautiful (can't remember now exactly the right word for "laziza"). Same with Aida Nour. Nour is light as well as female name.

Amar is literally moon, but beautiful women are sayed to look like moon. So Eva Amar would be Eva the Beautiful. This translation is more correct than "laziza", because there is better for for the other one.

Outi is absolutely spot on, in the Gulf the women go by 'Om <insert name of first boy>' and it would be rare to hear the name of a man's wife...very, very rare...it just isn't done at all. Even say you were in a shop and a husband wanted to get his wife's attention you'd never hear him calling out 'hey, Miriam!' or even 'Om <name>'.

I know quite a few men by 'Abu <name>' but these were not men I knew from a business sense...they are men that I know in a friendly manner.

I like Eva Amar - short, simple and easy for people to announce as you go on stage.

I like Eva Amar too. I also know that Eva or Ava is used as a female given name in Jordan, at least. A good translation for "laziz/laziza" is "beautiful" in the sense of delicious, luscious.

Another vote for Eva Amar. So pretty!

BTW: The a's occurring so close together might be remedied by pronunciation. In Arabic the stress on the word Amar (Qamar in fusha/standard Arabic) is in the first syllable. So AMar, not amAR. The 'a' sound is strong, not blended into the previous 'a'.

Eva Amar--lovely name!

i chose my name because it means jewels or jewelry in arabic (jawahir) and i really didn't like it enough. i decided to change my name, but i had already established myself too much to make a total change (in my opinion). i resonated with bahiya (which is of course taken in many ways), then decided to make it jawahir bahiya (radiant jewel). my name is jewl, and wanted to simply find the arabic word for it, which turned out to be a difficult one. westerners don't say "ja-WAH-hair" very well...one time i was advertised as jawhair...eeeew! another time someone said it gave them an image of those star wars jawa creatures with crazy hair. oh boy...

now, i say jawahir (jewl) bahiya...and am leaning back toward jewl but it just isn't exotic enough. i like eva amar, it is really nice. i wish i had thought my name through longer before deciding on it. i needed something quick at the time for some reason i can't remember now and that's what happened.

i meant to mention my reason for a stage name is more than just glamour. i was concerned about stalker types, and also thought it was a good idea to separate my dance life from my home and professional life (i worked in the corporate world, and ya know how that can be). these days those are no longer concerns but i am so used to using a stage name, i still do. it's been with me so long, even though it doesn't quite fit to me, it's now a part of me.

I have those same concerns (mainly the corporate/legal world one) which is why I'd like a stage name. I really wanted something close to an anagram of my first name- Melissa - or at least similar sounding. The only things that came close were salma and salima. If I go with either, I definitely need a second name.

What about Maysa, Melina? it starts with the same initial as your own and has a similar sssss-y sound at the end.

don't worry, keep looking and something you'll love will show itself!

Originally Posted by gotraqs

OK, so I picked a dance name years back, but I stopped using it after I heard my name announced at an event, and all I could think was that it sounded like a name for a butter substitute. So, I have been thinking ever since that I probably need a dance name, but I just haven't been able to get comfortable with having a stage name at all, much less an Arabic stage name. My first name is Paula, and my middle name is Eva. Paula is, as one baby name book I have called it "WWII-era stale and musty." Lovely, huh? Would Eva work? Or do I just need to get over it and pick an Arabic name and go with it?

Thanks!

"Eva" makes me think of one of my favorite songs by Ozomatli.

I love that name!

Your middle name Eva is beautiful and unusual. I have a cousin whose first name is Eva. If you want a dance name, incorporate that name into it. If you want to use "Amar" use "Amara" instead as that is more grammatically correct.

"Amar" is the masculine form; "Amara" is the feminine form. I know there are dancers out there like Amar Gamal, but they are using their names incorrectly (no one has told them that!). Her correct name would be Amara Gamila which is the feminine form.

So your stage name can be Eva Amara. That sounds pretty.

Amar/amara means moon in Arabic. In the Egyptian culture if you want to complete someone you tell them they look like the moon. Amaraine (like the song by Amr Diab) means two moons which is like basically telling someone they are really, really pretty!

The only reason why I know this is because I am Egyptian, if you have any questions, let me know.

Take some other dancers, Fahteim, for example, her name should be "Fahteima/Fatima," she is calling herself by a man's name!

Originally Posted by gotraqs

Ooooooooooh! I like that! Eva Amar! That may be a keeper! :)

Stalker types: this is actually one of the reasons why Egyptian belly dancers in Egypt give themselves stage names, too, so that stalkers can't look them up and follow them!

Originally Posted by jawahir

i meant to mention my reason for a stage name is more than just glamour. i was concerned about stalker types, and also thought it was a good idea to separate my dance life from my home and professional life (i worked in the corporate world, and ya know how that can be). these days those are no longer concerns but i am so used to using a stage name, i still do. it's been with me so long, even though it doesn't quite fit to me, it's now a part of me.