Belly dance is a Western term for a traditional Middle Eastern dance form. Some American devotees refer to it simply as "Middle Eastern Dance".

In the Arabic language it is known as raqs sharqi (رقص شرقي; literally "oriental dance") or sometimes raqs baladi (رقص بلدي; literally "national" or "folk" dance). The term "raqs sharqi" may have originated in Egypt. In Greece and the Balkans, belly dance is called tsiftetelli (τσιφτετέλι).

The term belly-dance is a creation of Orientalism, and is first attested in English in 1899, translating French danse du ventre.[1]

Indexed at Wikipedia.