Until recently, this style was probably the most common style of belly dance in the US - hence the name.

Commonly seen in restaurants, nightclubs, festivals and the like, it is basically a pastiche of movements from

Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Lebanon and Syrria (as well other Middle Eastern or North African countries) that has

been made palatable to the Western eye. There is also a good degree of fantasy involved, as many dancers

invented the dance as they went along, taking cues from everything from Ruth St. Denis to motion pictures

to Orientalist paintings, honing it all into a five part routine, with an entrance song, a slow taqsim, another

song, a beledy progression and a drum solo.This is the type of belly dancing you might see in a cheesey sixties

or seventies movie movie or portayed in a James Bond flick .Dancers wear coin or beaded costume, use veils,

finger cymbals, and may include floor work in their routines.

(from an article by Princess Farhana on www.Bellydancela.com)