Samantha Pierce

Bollywood vs. Bin Laden So never mind the commentary about the influence of Bollywood on cultures currently dominated by Islam, but with 3 billion people watching Bollywood films Hollywood might want to take some notes. Okay one comment, the relationship of Bollywood to the young people of the Arab and Islamic world sounds a bit like American teenagers and the early days of rock and roll. Now on to what caught my eye the first time I watched this. Those of you who watch a lot of American music videos should pay close attention to the clips of the dance routines. My don't those moves look familiar? So have American choreographers been talking with Bollywood choreographers or what?

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This all started because I wanted to find out what "cheb" meant. As I was poking around the internet I discovered several musicians with "cheb" in their names. I realised that it had to be an assumed title. Eventually I discovered that it means young in Arabic but I also discovered that it meant much more than just that. Many cultures around the world have a tradition of social and political commentary through music. I was born in a place where politicians were weary of the popular musicians. One wrong move and they would be flayed by a skillful lyric. I actually remember singing songs that had been banned because they were critical of the government. The fact that as a six or seven year old I knew the words to the banned songs shows the power of those songs. I'm sure that many of you are familiar with Sting's collaboration with Cheb Mami in 1999 that gave us Desert Rose (YouTube video). For most of North America that was our first exposure to the Algerian f...

This isn't the best representation of the art form but it is a good demonstration of the versatility of what Americans call bellydance. And the song is a favourite of Sis1's.