I never really feel like I'm supposed to answer these questions, as new as I am but nevertheless:

What does your performing name mean to you?
Hmmm... Well to me it symbolises another pat of the real me. I'm so shy and quiet in real life, and December is a bit more... not outgoing as such, just confident. Quietly confident I guess. She is who I want to be all the time, but don't have the courage to be.

How did you choose it? Did it go through changes?
I had a really bad name first of all. I was trying to think of different aspects of my personality, and wanted a name that would convey a shy, coy personality. I won't say what the first part was because a) it embarasses me and b) I don't want someone I've never seen on here before to pop up all offended because it is part of their name. I don't know of anyone with it, but you never know. The second part was still Charm.

I kind of liked the name, I thought it conveyed my "real" personality well, but I wanted my alter ego to be a bit more cheeky, and the name just didn't work for that. (I guess December doesn't either, but it's a bit more open than the original).

I was on the internet and stumbled across a list of gothic baby names. There were some really strange ones like Moonbeam and Sorrow but then I found December which I just loved. Also, AFI had just released an album called "Decemberunderground" and a lot of the lyrics related well to where I was at that time.

Plus, I love Christmas more than life itself. It sounded all twinkly and sparkly and festive. It just fit.

Has it been a curse/blessing/both?
Well at the moment, I can't say it has been either. It doesn't sound like anyone else (I guess there is Gypsy Charms but the two names sound completely different- it actually took me a long time to even click that our "surnames" were so similar!) so that will be a blessing I suppose.

Any funny misunderstandings or mispronunciations?
I get December Charms a lot. I couldn't understand why until I wrote the above paragraph, and maybe people are getting the plural from Gypsy's name.

I get a LOT of people who think my real name is December too. I could understand if I had a name like Rose or Lilly but... December??? How many people have you met called December?

Does it reveal your own personality at all? Or are you mysterious?
Hmmm I guess it gives away my love of Christmas. As I said before it's all a bit twinkly and sparkly. (I'm over analysing my own name now- I just thought maybe it sounds all a bit too idealist, which is actually what I like to let people think. I'm rarely in a bad mood, but I don't often let people know when I am. I never ever ever put anything negative on my Facebook status because I know there are people on there who don't like me and want to see me suffer) Anyway, I'm babbling. I'm not even sure what I'm getting at any more so I will leave it at that.

Hmm... and having said all that I just clicked on those links in Leyla's post and I'm confused. Who's Charm?

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Snowflakes and Sparkles xox
December's Myspace

My performing name is technically my real name! My actual name is Dorothy Rose, but when I was little I hated it and so have been called by a nickname for the past twenty years...however, being older and wiser now I'm actually quite enjoying using my real name, and thankful to my parents that they gave me a name that lent itself well to being a name for performing! It's quite strange though after a childhood spent asking people not to use my real name, but also nice to be happy with it after years of not being

What does your performing name mean to you? How did you choose it?
I always had a thing for Mythology and Freya is probably is the most interesting goddess to me. I feel very related to nordic and germanic mythology as my roots are north and east european. I died my hair bright red from when I was 17 - 25 and got called foxy by friends a lot. Fräulein is quite oldfashioned for an unmarried woman. That's how Fräulein Freya Fox got pieced together. Probably if/when I get married I'll change it to Frau.

Did it go through changes?
I called myself Freya von Fox at the beginning but got annoyed that it got pronounced wrong all the time so changed it. Von is pronounced with a sharp F at the beginning so it would be 3 sharp F in a row but it sounds wrong if it's pronounced like a v. So I left it out.

Has it been a curse/blessing/both?
I think neither or I didn't realise.

Any funny misunderstandings or mispronunciations? Not really although, often people write it Frauline, which would sound like Frauleanay if you read it the german way.

Does it reveal your own personality at all? Or are you mysterious? A bit of a mixture of both, but that's a good thing.

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www.myspace.com/freya_fox

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Iv'e been lucky enough to see you both sing and act, and you are indeed, a talented lady. Never could fathom the original: "Annie 20," but I'm sure it must of had some significance.
What is iconic about 'Annie' is the avatar. I know I jest about you and me being sad fans of grandma's wardrobe, but Annie in the avatar is like; "Rosie the Riveter,"
Now my suggestion for a name, is to keep Annie, but link it to the famous song by John Denver.
YouTube - John Denver - Annie´s Song
You have a strong and powerful voice, that is forever Annie, so why don't you call yourself:
Annie Denver.
I know it doesn't have an immediate burlesque ring to it, but for the above reasons, it is you.
Anyone else think so?

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Ooh la la!

What does your performing name mean to you?
If I'm honest, it's a means to an end. I wouldn't have minded using my own real name in burlesque capacities but it would have been similar to another performer's.

How did you choose it? Did it go through changes?
I didn't choose it, I'd been getting called 'Amelie' or 'Boo' for awhile from the movies 'Amelie' and 'Monsters Inc'. Some people didn't actually call me by my real name and I still get msgs to 'Boo' on facebook! Eventually, my child Equity ran out and then they are tougher on similar sounding names. I was in a hurry as I needed the insurance for the next day, they said I could change it in the future. I said Amelie and was thinking of a surname when I saw a cirque du soleil dvd and taadaa!

Has it been a curse/blessing/both?
Certainly both. I love the anonomity of it, however my circus work is still under my real name; it's not so cool walking into an international meeting potentially with Soleil members and announcing your name!

Any funny misunderstandings or mispronunciations?
Plenty, generally i get 'A-Meeeel' and sometimes 'A-Millie' which is odd. The best so far was being announced on stage as 'Ameeel Soleeeeel' wow I felt special. For future ref, I cause myself trouble because I don't pronounce it entirely correctly anyway; its either Emily but replace e for a or AmaLay SoLay to rhyme. To be honest, it doesnt really bother me.

Does it reveal your own personality at all? Or are you mysterious?
Ha! Not really... I met the cast from Cirque du Soleil's Zumanity in SF last month and was very nervous about revealing my surname. They thought it was fantastic and wanted to know why I had chosen it...they said it must be because I'm so sunny! Ha!! It's amazing how show nerves can make you appear to someone

Maybe actually, maybe the Amelie section tells more than I think. If you know the movie then yeah, maybe it is more accurate than I thought

Nice post Kittie

xx

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www.frayedknot.org.uk
http://www.myspace.com/ameliesoleil

What does your performing name mean to you?
I ahve often been told that I have a Pixie face! I used to LOVE fairies when I was little and still get the odd ornament. A few years ago I designed fairy wings and had them tattooed on my back. I am also a little childish and devious!

How did you choose it? Did it go through changes?
I picked Pixie because of the reasons stated but originally I was Pixie Scarlet because of my red hair, I decided that this was a little over used and with help from fellow MoB members I decided on Dust. I like it because it continues the idea of being devious and putting people under a Pixie spell!!!

Has it been a curse/blessing/both?
Burlesque wise it has been neither yet cause I've only just started performing but I have been a model under that name for a while and people seem to like it, although sometimes people just think I had really quirky parents!! I also keep coming up with names I think I like better but I'm sticking with it.

Any funny misunderstandings or mispronunciations?
Nope, that's the good thing about it, everyone can spell and pronounce it. I really wanted to go with my Grandmother's name (she is Dutch and her last name is DeRuijter) but no one would be able to pronounce that!

Does it reveal your own personality at all? Or are you mysterious?
Pixie like, my wings, I'm small boned! My acts are quite cute and cheeky so that also fits but the name also gives me room to change so my style isn't set in stone.

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Rock 'n' Roll me baby

I did noticed someone put Dave Hollywood on a flyer for a show I was doing. I guess the promoter is more dyslexic than me lol
Diva x

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Diva Hollywood - http://www.myspace.com/divahollywood

Well if you ever do a drag act you're made!

What does your performing name mean to you?
Quite literally, it means 'Flower of Evil'. But I don't like the evil connotations because I feel that would restrain my performances into dark, gothic styles and my stage persona would have to be something like Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty, and I want to be able to do other styles. So I translate it as 'Bad Flower' on my website - it's taking liberties with the language, but it has a cheekier edge to it that can be interpreted in many different ways. As to what it means to me, well, it reminds me of when I was in University, studying English Lit (yes, I did that alongside Astronomy, I'm contradictory by nature ...) and I chose the Gothic Lit module. My lecturer was one fo the coolest lecturers I'd ever had, with his 'healthy disrespect' for the genre - but one of the things he specifically taught us was the works of Baudelaire, probably the only gothic poet in existance. He taught us that poetry had been called 'poesy', which from its similarity to 'posy' conjured up images of poems being like little delicate flowers. Baudelaire's poetry is dark and full of horrible images - the first one I read was 'A Cadaver' which describes the author walking along with his lady friend and seeing a corpse by the side of the road, and going on to describe the rot that has set in, and speculating that one day the woman he loves will be in the same position. So by titling his collection 'Les Fleurs du Mal', the flowers of evil, Baudelaire was presenting his own 'posy' to the world. I would probably have forgotten all of this had I not read a short couple of stanzas which had no title, and which subsequently I have been unable to find, of a love poem which resonated with me in a way very few poems ever have before - and so Les Fleurs du Mal stuck in my mind ...

How did you choose it? Did it go through changes?
It suddenly struck me in a burst of inspiration. I wanted something quite elegant and I was toying with 'Astra' as a first name to reflect my love of astronomy - although I'm glad I didn't go with it because it just makes people think 'Vauxhall' ... 'Fleur du Mal' literally popped into my head and stuck there, needed no changing at all. It seemed perfect from the off, even with the 'evil' undertones, but I decided that words were just words so it didn't matter.

Has it been a curse/blessing/both?
Neither really. I like it though because I've never been particularly fond of my real name, so it's quite nice to have a name that I've chosen that I can operate under. When I introduce myself to other burly folk, they accept that my name is 'Fleur', or they already know it, and they seem to be comfortable calling me it - more so than my real name, sometimes! I've been told that Fleur suits me as a name, which is good, and it seems to have ended up as a sort of nickname between friends. The only thing that bugs me is when people insist on knowing my real name, because it makes me uncomfortable - by all means ask, but don't insist!

Any funny misunderstandings or mispronunciations?
People are divided on how to say 'Mal'. Most people pronounce it as it is written, to rhyme with 'pal' (as did my lecturer, thus getting that pronunciation in my head), but many people like to pronounce it as the French would do, more like 'Mol'. Misspellings, on the other hand, are common - 'Fluer' is a usual one, and I've often been written as 'de' instead of 'du', which I'm sure changes the translation, but as I never leanred French I'm not sure. Oh, and I get random capitalisation of the d, which is unnecessary ^_^ I get a lot of people thinking I chose it because it sounds elegant, which may be the French connection, and since I'm trying to do more elegant acts I go with that. Strangely enough, even though I worried about it, no one has yet expected me to be dark and evil ...

Does it reveal your own personality at all? Or are you mysterious?
I have no idea. I don't really know what my own personality is, so who knows?

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Terry Pratchett to Fleur - "Oh, are you the cleavage lady?"
Visit me - www.badflower.co.uk

What does your performing name mean to you?
Quite a lot, when letters started arriving at the house addressed to Heather Sweet and after the second sweetbq my dad has even started calling me
Heather Sweet.
Which is so lovely as when i was younger i mentioned a name change and he was quite offened i'd dump my surname. Which seemed redundant to me as being a girl in marridge i'd change it anyway. So for him to acknowlage my life in burlesque is such a kudos. And of course, I am Heather anyway. But being Sweet has been pretty lifechanging.


How did you choose it? Did it go through changes?
I chose it as a forum name. I wanted to be myself, but it was also a nod to dita. And i thought it sounded quite demure. I first started performing as fanny kisses after a mix up on a text. but people knew me as heather sweet so thats what i stuck with. I now only use fanny kisses for gbtv events.

Has it been a curse /blessing or both ?
A blessing totally. There are quite a few Heather Sweets in the united states so i can't use heather sweet.com as she's a lawyer which is a drag,
And then there's Heather Sweet the photographer & Heather Sweet the confectionist. But there all determinded driven women and i like that.
But i love being sweet, people might not know my face but they do my name..

Any funny misunderstandings or mispronunciations?
Just the misguided notion from some folk that dita was performing at bush hall under her an alias

Does it reveal your own personality at all? Or are you mysterious?
I'd like to think im sweet. Everybody ive come across seembs to suit there name,
not when you meet someone at a party and they say hi im justin, and you think mmmm no you look more like a nigel to me, then have a one to many drinks and call him nigel anyway.


Hello Dave, your my wife now, You can team up with DGs alias Decadent Dave and run a Dave apprechiation society.

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Happy Happy Joy Joy

What does your performing name mean to you?

As i went into in another thread my name is kind of an umbrella term for the person i feel i really am inside when all the politics and shyness and other rubbish is stripped away. But that side of myself was always there, even before i gave it a name. The name, while one i am satisfied with, is kind of incidental to the feeling i get when being 'Emerald'.


How did you choose it? Did it go through changes?

My boyfriend actually suggested it when i was looking for a stage name and i liked it. I have to say, a few months in i did get really tempted to have a name change as i stumbled upon the phrase 'Tuppeny Upright' and thought that would be a genuis stage name but to be honest as much as i love that name i feel that Emerald suits the type of acts i perform much better and my personality as a whole.

Has it been a curse /blessing or both ?
I don't think it has been either. I set a lot of store by names in my day to day life (i still believe that the name you give a child affects it profoundly) but i think that as i chose it myself (well, with a little help) it was bound to fit and i have only really ever thought of it as part of me.

Any funny misunderstandings or mispronunciations?
Kind of a gross one. I was introduced to and got chatting to one guy who thought it would be funny to keep calling me Hemorrhoid... he was nice really so it was taken in good humour but still Gross!

Does it reveal your own personality at all? Or are you mysterious?
I think it has a good balance of feminine and masculine, of brassyness and silliness which i think is a part of my nature. But i think it doesn't emcompass everything i am.... i don't think anyone is that easily classified.