Belly Dance

Belly dance (Egyptian Arabic: رقص بلدي, translated: Dance of the Country/Folk Dance, romanized: Raks/Raas Baladi) is a dance that emerged from Egypt. It features movements of the hips and torso. The origin of the name 'belly dance' comes from the French Danse du ventre, which translates as "dance of the stomach". It has evolved to take many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style; with the Egyptian styles and costumes being the most recognized worldwide due to Egyptian cinema. The Egyptian style with its traditional Egyptian rhymes is popular worldwide with many schools around the globe now practicing it.