It’s All in a Name

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Many years ago I was trying to figure out what name best fit my belly dance persona. I was known as Rainbow, a name given to me by a Medicine Man from the Taos pueblo. That just didn’t fit the dancer in me plus when I was traveling and living on ranches in Old Mexico they always seemed to say Rainbow but with a different pronunciation that sounded like they were saying Rambo. When I was in Egypt well……….they massacred my name and I realized back then that I just had to change my name period.

A few years after I returned from Egypt a woman from Turkey came into a restaurant I was dancing at and she took an immediate liking to me and we became good friends. I told her my dilemma with my name and she decided right then and there that she would help me pick out a name. Her name was Leyla and she was Lebanese and Turkish so she felt she could come up with a name that fit me and my dance persona.

After one of my last shows a few weeks later I went to the owners table where Leyla and a few of my other friends were sitting at. Leyla looked at me and said, “I have come up with your name. It will be my name Leyla with my spelling.  I have decided to give my name to you because through you I will be able to dance if not in body then in spirit.” I was flabbergasted and I could feel the tears start to swell up and come down my cheek. I gave her a hug and said I loved the name and would be honored to accept it.

The following evening I went to another gig at a restaurant that was more of a nightclub atmosphere with live music. When I walked through the front doors I excitedly told everyone what my new name was. They all loved the name but felt that I needed a last name since there were so many women named Leyla.  By the time I had finished performing my two shows my group of friends called me over to their table and proceeded to tell me that as of that night my name was officially changed to Leyla Najma! I loved it! But let me tell you……………..

The following weekend I let the restaurants that I danced at know that I was Leyla Najma now and not Rainbow or Rambo. The first restaurant I danced at for the weekend was in Dallas called Sinbad’s. I remember walking in and talking with the musicians when a lady came up to me and said, “Hello Leyla it’s good to see you again.” I said hello back and even though I didn’t recognize her face I said it was nice to see her again. She then said, “So when did you move here to Dallas?” I said I had been in the Fort Worth area for 3 years. She then said, “We loved you at the concert and wondered why we hadn’t seen you dance in a while.” She then turned to her friends and told them she had seen me dance in California. Now even though I had danced there, I had not performed at any concert. I thought to myself, ‘I wonder if she thinks I’m someone else?” I proceeded to tell her that she had me confused with someone else and she said very indignantly, “Are you Leyla Najma?” I said yes. She then said, “Yes I saw you dance at a Persian concert.” I knew this wasn’t true because I had just become Leyla Najma literally a week ago but instead of arguing with her I told her of course she was right.

Later that evening another group told me they had heard about me from friends and that they were delighted to see my show. I thought to myself, wow this was wonderful that was until they started talking about Leyla Najma. I knew I hadn’t been “her” for very long and I was amazed at the name recognition that was taking place before my very eyes. People seemed to recognize my name and they would argue with me that they had heard of me for years. My new name not only got me the recognition I had hoped for, but I was hired for more private parties and weddings beyond my wildest dreams. Literally over night my new name helped me become well known with a celebrity status and it changed my dance career forever!

Deep down inside I was the same me but my new name had a frequency to it that elevated my status without me having to fork out the doe in advertizing and PR. When I was interviewed in the Fort Worth Star Telegram that is when it really sunk in that we should seriously look into our names. My name not only changed my dance career but how people viewed me. Patrons seemed to respond differently to me and the Arab and Persian communities took hold of my name and never let it go.

I’m not saying that everyone has to have a full belly dance name but I think when the metamorphosis is complete dancers should look at their names as the finishing touches to their belly dance image.

So Belly Dance Extraordinaires feel free to share your stories of how your names came about and let everyone know what changes happened or what funny stories took place once your new name and you merged into your belly dance persona.

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