TRADITIONAL BELLY DANCE also known as Raqs Sharqi, beledi, consists of movements that are executed throughout the entire body. The focus of the dance is the pelvic and hip area. It is, fundamentally, a solo improvisational dance with its own unique dance vocabulary that is fluidly integrated with the music's rhythm.

Belly dancers internalize and express their emotions evoked by the lyrics and the music. Appropriately, the music is integral to the dance. The most admired Belly dancers are those who can best project their emotions through dance, even if their dance is made up of simple movements. The dancer's goal is to visually communicate to the audience the emotion and rhythm of the music. Raqs Sharqi translates from Arabic as "dance of the Orient" or "Oriental Dance". This is the oldest dance in the world.

'''Traditional Egyptian-style''' Belly dance is based on Beledi/baladi and later the work of belly dance legends Samia Gamal, Tahiya Karioka, Naima Akef, and other dancers who rose to fame during the golden years of the Egyptian film industry. Later dancers who based their styles partially on the dances of these artists are Sohair Zaki, Fifi Abdou, Farida Fahmy and Nagwa Fouad.  All rose to fame between 1960 and 1980, are still popular today, and have nearly risen to the same level of stardom and influence on the style.

Egyptian belly dance was among the first styles to be witnessed by Westerners. During Napoleon's invasion of Egypt (the campaign which yielded the Rosetta stone, leading to the translation of Egyptian hieroglyphs|hieroglyphics), Napoleon's troops encountered the Ghawazee tribe. The Ghawazee made their living as professional entertainers and musicians. At first the French were repelled by their heavy jewelry and hair, and found their dancing "barbaric", but were soon lured by the hypnotic nature of their movements.

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