Stage names?

I took a dance name when I started performing. I was Dea, and I used it because at the time I was very pagan, and that was my Craft name.

Nowadays, though, I just use my own name because I've long since outgrown my "Dea" identity. Amber suits me fine... as well it should, since I feel more myself when dancing than at any other time, pretty much!

I like Amber's response. I too have been thinking about a bellydance name. SOmething to think about.

When I first started dancing, like 10years ago I went by Naseem (I still really like that name) then I quit dancing for a few years and when I started up again I decided to go with Azra because I like the sound of it, I dont know if I look like an Azra though? I'm thinking I like Azra Naseem. hmmm.

I choose mine when I first started dancing 6 years ago. There's a link that I can't remember now but it has different Arabic names on it. I chose Rya cause it means 'to dream' and I thought that was kind of neat.
Here's a site I just found trying to find the one I used. It's kind of neat www.ummah.net/family/fem.html
Ooh here's the one I used: www.bdancer.com/med-guide/...ames.html#R

Phenoix McFarland has a great book about names, their use and their influence on one's sye-kie (i have no idea how to spell that... hurray for phonetics!) "he who is called a bear is apt to act like a bear"
it's a Pagan geared group, but there is a lot of cool information on nomancleature(sp?), naming/coming of age ceremonies, for anyone. the 2nd half-ish of the book is all names, Gods/Goddesses(a little arrogant, I think....) flowers, different cultures, stones, and a bunch of other sources. ^_^
www.amazon.com/Book-Magic.../0738703958

I just chose mine a couple months ago, and I've been dancing for about 4 years now.

I gave it a lot of thought for a long time, but finally, what sparked it was dancing at an event where they introduced all the dancers: Naima, Zahira, Vashtiya, etc... and "Laurie W*****" Yikes. It just sounded so lame. So, now, dance-wise, I'm Aliyah.

Both the SCA troupe and the studio dancers all had names. Many have kept them for years. It was hard picking a name that fit. There were many suggestions and Kadife stuck. It means velvet. And that's me, rich, vibrant, exquisit (sp?), touchable, sensual, but rub me the wrong way and I get rough. LOL

Ugh, the name dilema. I've been vacillating between stage name/nickname and my real name. I really like Maya Kali as a name. I feel Maya fits me well however I feel strange introducing myself to new students as Maya when my friends who happen to be in my troupe know me as carrie. I am a dancer and sometimes having a fake name seems a bit presumptuous or cheesy lol. Especially when I go to a Moroccan restaurant in town and see a caucasian dancer with an exotic name that you just KNOW isn't her real name. There's a part of me who wants to be Maya and what it entails...mystery, illusion, enchantment, but then there's the practical me who wants people to know the real me. That CARRIE is me and happens to also be a dancer. I dont want to separate myself from the dancer part of me. But I'm drawn to the name Maya. So I go through phases where online I'm maya and other times I'm carrie.

So back to your questions....when I used Maya was when I started performing in the cabaret circles. I took the name because of what it meant in Hinduism. I'm drawn to the concept of Maya and how Kali is Maya and yet she helps you see through that very veil.

I like the name. It "looks" like me yet simple to pronounce and not that all unusual. So it seems more like a real name. However Maya Newton doesn't quite cut it. I like Kali...and so thought to name myself after her.

To repeat what I posted on this topic elsewhere, I picked my name for my first group performance. I chose "bhasat" because it means "a bird," and birding is one of my other obsessions. But yesterday I just found out that it means a specific bird, a vulture, and I'm not so keep on that, so I'm currently having the dilemma of whether to change it or not. I agree that it can feel a little silly to see an obviously white-bread American dancer with an exotic name, but like some of you, I don't think "Megan" makes a particularly convincing name for a bellydancer. I don't know whether I'm going to keep Bhasat or not. I'm by no means an established dancer and I'm about to move out of state, so it's not like the name is going to stick at all if I don't force it to. Decisions, decisions....

I gave myself a dance name for our student troupe's first performance. I picked it from a list I found when I searched on belly dance names. My dance name, Shazadi, means princess. I don't feel much like a princess in real life, that's why I chose it. I personally think it's okay when an obviously Caucasian dancer has an exotic name. It's all part of the persona we take on when we dance, along with the costuming, makeup, hair, etc. I don't think it's cheesy at all. I like the symbolism, too.

Of course, I'm not a professional, I'm a student, and this is my hobby, so maybe professionals feel differently about it? There was another thread about this in the Everyday Bellydancer, and I thought some professional dancers said one of the reasons they have a stage/dance name is for safety, not using their real name when performing.

Oh Yipe! I am glad you posted this topic because I literally was just thinking about this last night and was going to post the same question. LOL So THANK YOU! Well, I am very new to bellydance. I am a student and not a professional bellydancer yet anyway. I have a ways to go. But I like the idea of having a specific name for bellydance that means something special to you or describes you. But I wasn't sure if it was too cocky or too fast of me to pick a name. Afterall, I am a student for only 2 months or so and I am not performing yet. What do you ladies think about that? I guess I don't want to disrespect the instructors or other professional dancers at my school who have many years invested into this art. You know what I mean? Anyway... My real name is Diana. But I do love Arabic names. I also like Biblical names which may be the way I head if I chose a name. I am not sure how comfortable I would feel picking a pagan name or hindu god name etc... (this stems from my faith as a Christian) but I am sure my comment made that pretty obvious. LOL Anyway... I am going to check out some names online and I will post some that I like.

My stage name sort of migrated over from the SCA as well. I had been dancing for about three or four years and decided that I wanted to use a stage name. Here is what I said about my name when a similar question was posed in the Belly Dance for Life Tribe:

since I took this name it's become *my* name, meaning that I feel like Shamsa and will answer to that in a crowd more readily than to my "mundane" name. I know a lot of dancers who can say the same thing.

I found the name when I was researching Arabic poetry, mostly poems about dancers. I ran across a female poet from the 13th century. Her full name was Shamsa al Mawsiyya. I really loved what I could find of her writing. Now, years later and with the help of google I've been able to find a bit more. Like:

"She sways in a saffron dress bathed in camphor, ambergris and sandalwood like a narcissus in the garden, a rose in the sun or an image in the temple."

Pretty neat huh?

And then I found out that Shamsa literally means "sun" and since I've always had the blazing red hair it seemed to fit. Also, a Shamsa in Arabic art is a sunburst or a rosette like this: www.columbia.edu/itc/meala...nburst.jpg

I've also found out that the word "shamsia" means umbrella. So...if I make my name Shamsa Shamsia it will literally mean "sun umbrella" and I'll be a parasol. Har har. But I am seriousluy thinking using that. Shamsa Shamsia has a nice ring to it.