Belly dance or bellydance is a Western-coined name for a type of Middle Eastern dance. Originally a "solo, improvised dance involving torso articulation",belly dance takes many different forms depending on the country and region, both in costume and dance style, and new styles have evolved in the West as its popularity has spread globally.
Belly dance is primarily a torso-driven dance, with an emphasis on articulations of the hips.[ Unlike many Western dance forms, the focus of the dance is on relaxed, natural isolations of the torso muscles, rather than on movements of the limbs through space. Although some of these isolations appear superficially similar to the isolations used in jazz ballet, they are sometimes driven differently and have a different feeling or emphasis.
In common with most folk dances, there is no universally codified naming scheme for belly dance movements. Some dancers and dance schools have developed their own naming schemes, but none of these are universally recognised.
