The term `` Belly dance '' is translated from the French `` danse du ventre '' . The term `` belly dancing '' is generally credited to Sol Bloom , entertainment director of the 1893 World 's Fair , the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago , although he consistently referred to the dance as `` danse du ventre , '' of which `` belly dance '' is a literal translation . In his memoirs , Bloom states only that `` when the public learned ... danse du ventre ... I had a gold mine . ''