Belly dance s a Western term for a traditional br br Arab dance genre known as raqs sharqi literally "oriental br br dance") or sometimes raqs baladi literally "dance of br br country", and so "folk" dance). It is also sometimes called "Middle br br Eastern Dance" or the "Arabic Dance" in the United States, "danse du br br ventre" or by the Turkish term Çiftetelli .br br Native to the Middle East, and now popular worldwide, belly dance takes br br many different regional forms, both in costume and dance style, br br indicating that distinctive dance moves may have been transported to br br these regions and incorporated with local dance styles.br br Today there are two forms of Oriental belly dance; the first is called br br raqs baladi, a social dance performed for fun and celebration by men br br and women of all ages, usually during festive occasions such as br br weddings and other social gatherings.