Belly dance chti7

Belly dance is a Western name for an Arabic style of dance developed in the Middle East. Some American devotees refer to it simply as "Middle Eastern Dance".

In the Arabic language it is known as raqs sharqi رقص شرقي ("eastern dance") or sometimes raqs baladi رقص بلدي ("national" or "folk" dance). The term "raqs sharqi" may have originated in Egypt.

The term belly-dance is a creation of Orientalism, and is first attested in English in 1899