Do I need to show my belly to bellydance?

Absolutely not!

Bellydance is a big misnomer. It is a Western term. In Egypt and other parts of the MENAHT region it is known as Oriental Dance or in Arabic as Raqs Sharqi.

It is more than just dancing to wiggle your belly. It is fully body movement with turns, graceful arms, arabesques, isolations and expression. Not showing your belly doesn't affect how good a bellydancer you are. Many bellydancers, dance in dresses to perform and for practicing in class any clothing that is comfortable to move in that allows the instructor to see your isolations in your hips and chest is good enough. Most often a t-shirt or tank and yoga pants is all you need for class.