Hey guys! I’m a fairly new student of tribal fusion belly dance! I didn’t have any plans to give myself a fancy belly dancer name. My two favorite dancers have very regular white chick names - [name]Rachel[/name] and [name]Zoe[/name] - but all the other gals are either talking about it or have their super cool name picked out. I am starting to be seduced by the idea.
So maybe y’all can help me pick one!
I’m not particularly entranced by Eastern or “tribal” cultures in general, I just love this particular style of dance - and the perdy costumes. So it doesn’t necessarily need to be a name from a particular culture. I have not performed anywhere yet but in front of classmates so I don’t have a costume but if I did it would be reminiscent of the Orientalist movement of the 20s and 30s.
I like the idea of adding hints of European culture to the mix to go with my red hair and pale skin, like indigo tattoos instead of henna (as a nod to the mythical blue woad). My wacky name might be one of those nods? Jus a thought…
So anyway it can be a name from pretty much any culture. [name]Just[/name] looking for something exotic, dramatic, feminine, but easy to spell and pronounce.
Oooh, delightful! These two immediately come to mind:
[name]Soraya[/name] - Persian for [name]Princess[/name], also a reference to the Pleiades. (seven for luck and who doesn’t want to be a star?)
[name]Esmeralda[/name] - the beautiful dancing gypsy in The Hunchback of Notre-Dame and a nod to your love for [name]Emerald[/name]
I’ll think it over and see if I can come up with some more!
Shoshannah! It is the name of a woman who teaches a popular belly dancing class in my hometown and I always thought it sounded perfect for a belly dancer. I also like sessha’s suggestion of Esmerelda. Altalune and Sybilla are great ideas! I will post again if I think of more.
[name]Welcome[/name] to the tribal fusion sisterhood! I’ve been bellydancing for about 7 years, cabaret for 4 and then tribal/tribal fusion for about 3 years now, so this topic title caught my eye By the way, you couldn’t have picked better role models! [name]Rachel[/name] [name]Brice[/name] and [name]Zoe[/name] Jakes are my idols.
The group I dance with doesn’t go by dance names, but plenty of people in the community do. I chose a dance name when I was performing as a cabaret dancer – Suhailah, which means smooth, flowing. Then I realized just going by Suhailah made other dancers pretty much think exclusively of Suhailah Salimpour, so my instructor gave me a second name, [name]Aminah[/name] – so I danced under the name Suhailah [name]Aminah[/name]. Now, though, I just go by my real nickname. My dance teacher is named [name]Brigid[/name], which is about as non-Arabic as you can get!
To give you some ideas, these are some of the names dancers chose from the cabaret group I danced with: [name]Zahara[/name], [name]Noora[/name], Serayah, [name]Padme[/name], Siofra (SHEE-fra, which is actually Celtic), [name]Samira[/name], Rahima.
I also like the suggestion of [name]Vita[/name], and I really like [name]Indigo[/name] or [name]Indira[/name] for you. The others ([name]Altalune[/name], [name]Yvaine[/name], [name]Sybilla[/name]) are a little too European for me, like I couldn’t see a bellydancer with those names. Then again, I couldn’t see a bellydancer named [name]Brigid[/name] either, and she’s incredible! So pick whatever feels right, from any origin, and ask for suggestions from your real life dance sisters, too. GL
Thank you, greyer, and thanks for the warm welcome! I started taking classes about a year ago, and quit when I got promoted. Then I moved here and the closest class is uh… Not close. I can only manage two classes a month but I’m supplementing with [name]Rachel[/name] [name]Brice[/name]'s Datura Online video classes. It’s fantastic.
So anyway names! Thank you for the suggestions! I don’t know if I would ever dance under an assumed belly dance name. A couple girls in the class said they just picked them “for fun.” So they picked really outlandish ones like Semiramis and [name]Akasha[/name]. It’s like an alter ego to get them in the mood. Then some of ten are super serious about their name and some don’t have one at all. So I guess it’s just a matter of preference.
It might be just for fun for me, too. But idk, if I found a really wearable one I’d use it. I do kinda dig the European ones cause they’re unexpected. And like you said - what’s more unexpected than [name]Brigid[/name]? Or [name]Rachel[/name] or [name]Sharon[/name] or [name]Zoe[/name] or [name]Ashley[/name]? Ha!
Again thanks for the suggestions! To greyer and to all of you. [name]Indigo[/name] is kinda sticking with me…
[name]Indigo[/name] gives you good costume-options.
[name]Sidonie[/name] (As in [name]Sidonie[/name]-[name]Gabrielle[/name] [name]Colette[/name], who was known to break into a belly dance at a moment’s notice.)
Viatrix
Ouija
Zhenya
[name]Jessamine[/name]
Zaramama (Incan grain-goddess… in honor of fat lady-bellies)
Amananananda
Madame [name]Ottoline[/name] (because it’s almost “Ottoman”)
I am considering [name]Sybilla[/name], [name]Luna[/name], [name]Vesper[/name], and [name]Indigo[/name]. Also, [name]Emerald[/name] might be one to consider…
By the way, you couldn’t have picked better role models! [name]Rachel[/name] [name]Brice[/name] and [name]Zoe[/name] Jakes are my idols.