Rumba attracts attention with original movements filled with flirtation and passion. But is it really the unbridled emotions of two lovers that formed the basis of this dance? The history of style is fraught with interesting points, which we invite you to learn about right now.
What is rumba distinctive features dance
Rumba is a multicultural phenomenon. Speaking in modern language, This separate subculture like dudes, hippies, etc. This is a conversation about the unity of music and dance, with the melody setting the rhythm for the dancers.
For those who are barely familiar with it dance style, one might get the impression that this is a dance of love and passion. But that's not true. Real Cuban rumba is a celebration, joy and desire to enjoy life. The lyrics of the songs revolve around two topics: politics and social order. There is little love here, but a lot of energetic movements and a frantic rhythm, which is set by African drums.
Where then did the distorted perception of dance come from? Thanks to the assignment of international status to the style. Ballroom rumba has a calmer, more romantic musical accompaniment, as well as more graceful choreography. Watching the dancers flirt on stage, one involuntarily feels a feeling of sadness and longing for a departed love.
But the features of rumba do not end there. The Cuban direction is divided into three types, each of which is endowed with specific features.
Guaguanco is the most common rumba. It resembles flirting between two partners. At the same time, the man tries to touch his partner with a handkerchief, and she effectively defends herself by performing beautiful movements hips.
Yambu is the oldest rumba, where the flirting of a partner with his partner also comes to the fore. But everything proceeds much more softly and not as boldly as in guaguanco.
Colombia. Unlike previous varieties, this rumba originated in rural areas of Cuba. The style is distinguished by its fast pace, energy and the obligatory presence of a male solo dancer.
IN general outline rumba is:
couple dance;
spectacular movements of the hips, body and arms;
a special atmosphere of the tropics, conducive to relaxation and bliss on the ocean.
History of rumba
Cuba is considered the birthplace of this dance genre. Under the hot rays of the sun scorching the island of Liberty, the rumba appeared, which was destined to win the hearts of millions around the world.
It all started in the 60s years XIX century, when streams of blacks freed from slavery poured from the eastern outskirts of Cuba into big cities: Havana and Matanzas. Thousands of Africans, brought to the lands of Liberty Island two centuries earlier, began to spread their culture among the local population. Former slaves settled working-class neighborhoods in the neighborhood with immigrants from Europe and filled life around with African rhythms and dances.
It is noteworthy that the rumbas are based not only African traditions, but the culture of individual African peoples. To be more precise, these are the Bantu tribes. It was they who settled Havana and became the progenitors of dance. Interestingly, Bantu dances are secular, that is, they were performed at various holidays. They have ritual roots, but they are not fundamental in nature.
Europeans, most of whom were Spaniards, and Africans - two cultures, at the junction of which the birth of rumba took place. The style inherited the poetic meter and vocal style of singing songs from the Spaniards, and the drum sound and energy from the Africans.
The abolition of slavery in Cuba did not mean an offensive for blacks peaceful life. Hard labour has not disappeared anywhere, nor has discrimination. Unlike the United States, life was easier for the black population on Liberty Island: Africans were given the rights of whites. But at the same time they were forbidden to hold the position of engineer or doctor, and also... to play national instruments- drums. If the police saw musicians playing tumbadores or cajons in crowded places, they immediately confiscated them.
It is impossible to force a people filled with rumba rhythms to live without music and dance. Witty Cubans came up with the idea of performing “rumba de bemba” on their lips. In essence, they made sounds using their mouths and lips, confusing the authorities. Thus, the style continued to live at the beginning of the 20th century.
In the 50s, the performance of rumba could only be seen in urban solares. They were living quarters that surrounded courtyards. The energy of the dance also accompanied workers at sugar processing factories and local taverns. People who knew each other well usually gathered in these places. Therefore, they gladly indulged in music and dancing in order to forget about the hard everyday life.
It turns out that rumba was originally a genre inherent in the poor sections of the Cuban population. But around 1952, the style began to emerge from the “underground”, from the backyards of Solares to theater scenes. His appearance among intellectuals is associated with a group of friends who decided to form the rumba ensemble “Guaguanco Matancero”. They were inspired by rumba recordings that accompanied gatherings of the local population in the Rooster tavern.
The newly formed team began to actively perform at various festivals, participate in various television programs and radio broadcasts. After 2 years, “Guaguanco Matancero” released the first record with the recording “Dolls” (“Los Muñequitos”), which became a national hit and is still perceived as characteristic style rumbas, born in the province of Matanzas.
Closer to the 60s, the government of Cuba “took up” the rumba. Style becomes politicized. The Ministry of Culture begins to create organizations dedicated to dance training, take part in the development of “folk” and professional dancers, and actively promote the style at various events.
What caused such interest on the part of the ruling officials? The desire to change the values of the people. After all, the history of rumba is, first of all, the history of dark-skinned Cubans. If the government is loyal to this dance, then all racial prejudices are a thing of the past. The politicization of rumba is an attempt to change social prejudices.
What's happening with rumba today? The dance has not disappeared. Moreover, the direction is included in the Latin American program ballroom dancing, along with samba, cha-cha-cha, paso doblema and jive.
Outside Cuba
In the USA, talk about rumba among the population was heard back in 1914. But the dance did not cause any particular delight in anyone. It took about 20 years for the style to emerge new uniform called "American Rumba". A peculiar rebirth of the genre occurred under the influence of jazz - the choreography was filled with more simple figures and a clear rhythm of steps.
Europeans owe the appearance of rumba in their homeland to dance teacher Pierre Lavelle. Traveling around Cuba, he was so inspired by the country's dance culture that he could not leave it without the attention of his students in London. The style caused heated debate among the prim British, but this did not stop it from being standardized in 1955. By the way, in addition to rumba, Lovell enriched the culture of the Old World and cha-cha-cha.
Interesting Facts
The main instruments used to perform rumba are tumbadores, clave and cajon. They all relate to drums. But for Cubans, the history of the appearance of the cajon is especially noteworthy. IN modern form this instrument is a wooden box on which the musician sits. In the past, the role of a cajon was played by large wooden boxes used to transport fish from Spain to Cuba. As soon as the boxes were emptied, local music lovers took them to extract the low rumba sounds.
Rumba became the latest foreign style to be included by Soviet choreographers in the ballroom dance program. Teachers from the Soviet era were embarrassed by the provocative nature of the style.
You can admire the performance of rumba in cinema thanks to the popular film “The Mask” (1994). Jim Carrey's fiery movements in the scene with the police are impossible to watch without moving. The shoulders begin to move on their own.
There are several versions regarding the origin of the name of the style. The first states that it is based on the term “rumboso orquestra”. IN early XIX centuries, this was the name given to musicians performing dance tunes. The second is closely associated with Spain, where the word "rumbo" is used to mean "path".
The best melodies in rumba rhythms
"Guantanamera"- one of the most popular songs created in the rumba genre. Exact date its appearance is unknown. The poems were written by José Martí around 1891. Musical accompaniment appeared almost 40 years later thanks to Jose Fernandez Diaz. What is the song about? About a girl from Guantanamo who leaves the main character after a romantic relationship.
"Guantanamera" (listen)
"La Paloma" or "Dove". It's hard to believe, but this composition is over 150 years old. Despite her advanced age, she is recognizable from the first chords. It was written by Sebastian Iradier, a Spanish composer. What else is remarkable about this song? The fact that today the number of her records exceeds the 2000 mark. Among famous performers who sang “La Paloma” include Elvis Presley, Julio Iglesias and Mireille Mathieu.
"La Paloma" (listen)
"Paxi Ni Ngongo"- a sensual and heartfelt song performed by Bonga, an Angolan composer. And although this singer was born far from the island of Liberty, African motifs and the struggle for independence can also be traced in his work. After all, Angola, located in South Africa, fought for freedom from the Portuguese.
"Paxi Ni Ngongo" (listen)
"Cantinero de Cuba" performed by Cuban singer Velfo Gutierrez. The song is literally imbued with the history of the Cuban people, who loved to relax in taverns. “Tavern in Cuba” - this is exactly how the song is translated, memorable with a light and beautiful melody.
"Cantinero de Cuba"(listen)
Rumba will always be associated with Cuba and the spirit of freedom with which the first dancers of African and Spanish origin filled it. This spirit still lives on the streets of Havana, where dark-skinned Cubans dance with pleasure to the exciting sounds of African drums.
Video: watch rumba
Rumba is a dance with deep inner content. The dance of love, partly unhappy, lonely and tearing the soul apart. Drama and sensuality are combined in dance into a single whole. It is believed that rumba was born from a symbiosis of flamenco and African slave dances in the 19th century. The name, according to one version, comes from dance groups, which were called in those days “rumboso orquestra”. Many researchers recognize that the word rumba is translated as the path of the soul.
Many years ago, rumba was not the same as we know it now. Initially, it was a kind of sensual pantomime, which was performed in a very fast rhythm. At the same time, the rumba of that time corresponded to many movements from ordinary life. For example, contracting the side in a dance is nothing more than the movement of a slave with a heavy load in his hands. An element of cucaracha - this is how cockroaches used to be crushed. Spot-turn slaves danced around the cart wheel! Today's slow and sensual version of the rumba first took place in 1930 in the United States. He combined several dance options from different parts of the world. During this time, the popularization of the dance was in full swing, and costumes and shoes for rumba dancing were improved. For example, in 1920, an orchestra was assembled to play Latin American music at various venues, as well as on film sets.
Rumba came to Europe with the famous dancer Pierre Lavelle. While in Cuba, he noticed that the local rumba is performed on the count of “two.” It was this technique that he began to teach in dance classes. So the dance became more romantic and sensual, the dresses for this sporty ballroom dance are also sensual and romantic. It is interesting that even in modern rumba history can be traced. After all, then, the woman tried to be stronger than men with the help of coquetry and charm. If you carefully follow the dance, you can always notice an element where the partner is first next to the partner and, as it were, teasing him, and then begins to run away to the side towards the other partner.
Rumba is the path of the soul that is ready for love, but is so afraid to show its weakness and open up to its partner that all this makes it unhappy and lonely.
rumba) - this word has two different meanings.One of them relates to the direction of dance and music that originated in Cuba. The most famous of them is rumba Guaguanco. Also popular are rumba Yambu and rumba Columbia. Each of these types of rumba has its own style of music and dance, but in general they are very close.
Another meaning appeared relatively recently and refers to a dance from the ballroom dance program, which is included in the competition program. In this sense, the rumba is the slowest of the five dances in the competitive Latin American program (the other four are paso doble, samba, cha-cha and jive). Rumba dance and music from competitive Latin American dances originate from Cuban dances. musical styles and dancing bolero and son.
Rumba style
Rumba and cha-cha-cha
Initially, there was no clear division between the rumba danzon and cha-cha-cha dances, which is why all the music, in a characteristic way beat the first beat (several beats from the beat leading to the first beat) fell under the category of rumba. Over time, the dances became clearly divided. The music of the rumba danson acquired a slower tempo, began to be composed, as a rule, in a minor mode, and acquired its own playing of the first beat (drums: eighth, eighth, eighth, quarter - first beat). Cha-cha-cha music has become faster, composed in both major and minor modes and has its own, very pronounced and emphasized playing of the first beat (eighth, eighth, quarter - first beat, the so-called “cha-cha-cha” or “cha-cha-time”).
In this regard, many famous rumbas in the past, from a modern point of view, should be considered more of a cha-cha-cha, or even cannot be clearly classified as one of these dances at all. For example, the famous melody "Cucaracha", considered a rumba, is neither a rumba nor a cha-cha-cha from a modern point of view. "Guantanamera" is better known as a cha-cha-cha rather than a rumba.
Thus, rumba owes its birth to religious rituals; it developed on the basis of pronounced rhythms and choral voices. We can also say that rumba, to some extent, is all those dances that were created by the Cubans.
Currently, this dance is known on all continents. First he came to cabaret, and then to television. There is a ballroom rumba, but it differs significantly from the authentic Cuban version.
Types of rumba
At the beginning of the 19th century, there were three versions of the rumba in Cuba, but the Guaguanco rumba, a dance during which the gentleman follows the lady in search of contact with his thighs, and the lady tries to avoid it, became widely known. In this dance, the lady seems to be the object of impudent courtship and tries to restrain the passion of her partner. Perhaps because of this, the name “dance of love” stuck to the rumba.
Also in Cuba there were different kinds rumbas, which were danced at holidays and just gatherings of people on the street. A prominent representative is the Rumba Mimetica, which depicts various scenes from life ordinary people(Papilote, Mama "buela, Gavilan)
Rumba underwent a radical evolution when it was exported to the USA. Along with the expansive, erotic Cuban, American Rumba appeared - with more restrained movements and style. It was this version of rumba that spread throughout the world, winning the hearts of several generations of dancers and simply connoisseurs of Latin American culture. Guaguanco mainly consists of African drum rhythms that are superimposed on a clave rhythm representing a shifted accent known as 3-2. Singing without musical accompaniment reminiscent of ancient Spanish melodies, which are superimposed on the rhythms of African drums. Guaguanco is performed by one or more soloists, the theme and words are invented as the song progresses. The structure of the Guaguanco rhythm is most often based on the Rumba Son rhythm.
Rumba in academic music
Rumba was used in some works by composers of the 20th century, for example, in D. Milhaud’s ballet “The Creation of the World” (1923) and in the finale of his Second Piano Concerto.
Emotional content of the dance
Among all ballroom dances, rumba is characterized by the deepest emotional content. During its evolution, rumba acquired many features characteristic of blues. There is a common cliche that “rumba is the dance of love.” The contrast of the pronounced erotic nature of the dance and the dramatic content of the music creates a unique aesthetic effect. Contrary to the general belief that the movements in the rumba are a dance embodiment of erotic feelings, the rumba was originally a wedding dance, and its movements meant nothing more than the family responsibilities of the spouses. The few modern rumbas written in major have their own flavor, but do not leave such a deep impression.
Rumba is a dance of emotions, a combination of passion, rhythm, sensitivity. The wide range of different shades of this dance allows you to convey all the passionate feelings of the two partners in smooth movements.
History of the dance
Rumba was danced for the first time in 1913. Initially, this dance was a ritual dance. African blacks. In the 19th century it was brought to Cuba. According to many sources, the dance received its name “Rumba” in 1807, as a derivative of the name “Rumboso Orguesta” - ensembles that performed music in the style of modern rumba.
From Spanish “rumba” is translated as “path”. The title truly conveys the whole meaning of the choreography. The path of the soul - what could describe this dance more? In the early 30s, rumba was a mixture of basic rumba with guaracha, Cuban ballero and son. A full-fledged version of the rumba was developed after the Second World War by Pierre Lavelle, master of one of the most famous at that time dance schools in London.
Today rumba is included in competitive program Latin American ballroom dancing.
What is rumba?
Rumba among all ballroom dances is characterized by the deepest emotional content. Also, in the course of its improvement, this dance acquired many features characteristic of the blues. The unique aesthetic effect of the dance creates a pronounced emotional character and quite dramatic content of the music. Rumba rightfully takes the place of one of the brightest dances of love. but this love is rather not tender and happy, but passionate and unhappy.
It should be noted that for a long time This dance was the wedding dance of Cuban newlyweds. His movements expressed nothing more than the uncontrollable passionate feeling of two hearts in love.
A striking feature of Cuban rumba is a clear rhythm and smooth, but at the same time strict movements. Modern rumbas, written in a major key, do not cause a storm of emotions, although they also have their own zest. It should be noted that Rumba is the name of a whole class of dances, namely: Afro-Cuban, Son, Son-Montuno, Conga, Gwajira, Danzon, Mambo and many others.
Kinds
In Cuba, there were three types of rumba dance, but the most popular, which received quite wide popularity and love, was the Guanguanco rumba. In this type of dance, a passionate gentleman follows his lady in search of rapprochement, touching hips, and the lady simultaneously teases him and tries to avoid contact.
American Rumba has also won the hearts of many generations of dancers and connoisseurs of Latin American culture. IN American form The performance of this dance shows a more restrained style, without erotic movements. It was this kind of performance that later spread throughout the world.
Features of Rumba
This dance is quite characteristic in its manner and technique of performing the main steps. The dance routine cannot be called easy. When performing rumba, steps are taken on a count of 2, 3 and 4. At each step, the knees are bent and straightened, and turns are performed between counts. All steps are taken from the toes, and the weight of the body is in front.
The musical time signature of the dance is 4/4, with a fairly pronounced emphasis on the 4th beat of each measure. The performance tempo is 25-27 beats per minute.
The basic steps of rumba are:
1. Move forward
Moving left leg forward, sliding along the floor with your toe, and then applying pressure to the floor with the ball of your foot. At the end of the step, straighten the left leg and lower the heel
2. Move backwards
Walk the left foot backwards, without changing the body, first with the ball of the foot, then with the toe of the foot with little pressure on the floor. The knee of the left leg is slightly bent, the heel is lowered, the leg is straightened.
All rumba gestures and movements are filled with love, passion and drama. Rumba is dominated by the Latin style of hip movement. Rumba is not a dance that can be mastered after one or two lessons. First of all, to effectively perform the rumba, you need to put into every movement, into every gesture, into every look feelings of love, emotional experiences, real attraction to your partner; only in this case can you convey all the charm and drama of the dance. And only in this case will the performers be able to feel the incredible pleasure of performing rumba, and the audience will be able to observe a real storm of emotions.
rumba) - this word has two different meanings.One of them relates to the direction of dance and music that originated in Cuba. The most famous of them is rumba Guaguanco. Also popular are rumba Yambu and rumba Columbia. Each of these types of rumba has its own style of music and dance, but in general they are very close.
Another meaning appeared relatively recently and refers to a dance from the ballroom dance program, which is included in the competition program. In this sense, the rumba is the slowest of the five dances in the competitive Latin American program (the other four are paso doble, samba, cha-cha and jive). The rumba dance and music of competitive Latin American dance is derived from Cuban musical styles and the bolero and son dances.
Rumba style
Rumba and cha-cha-cha
Monkey chachacha Initially, there was no clear division between the dances of rumba danzon and cha-cha-cha, which is why all music that characteristically played the first beat (several beats from the beat leading to the first beat) fell under the category of rumba. Over time, the dances became clearly divided. The music of the rumba danson acquired a slower tempo, began to be composed, as a rule, in a minor mode, and acquired its own playing of the first beat (drums: eighth, eighth, eighth, quarter - first beat). Cha-cha-cha music has become faster, composed in both major and minor modes and has its own, very pronounced and emphasized playing of the first beat (eighth, eighth, quarter - first beat, the so-called “cha-cha-cha” or “cha-cha-time”).
In this regard, many famous rumbas in the past, from a modern point of view, should be considered more of a cha-cha-cha, or even cannot be clearly classified as one of these dances at all. For example, the famous melody "Cucaracha", considered a rumba, is neither a rumba nor a cha-cha-cha from a modern point of view. "Guantanamera" is better known as a cha-cha-cha rather than a rumba.
Thus, rumba owes its birth to religious rituals; it developed on the basis of pronounced rhythms and choral voices. We can also say that rumba, to some extent, is all those dances that were created by the Cubans.
Currently, this dance is known on all continents. First he came to cabaret, and then to television. There is a ballroom rumba, but it differs significantly from the authentic Cuban version.
Types of rumba
At the beginning of the 19th century, there were three versions of the rumba in Cuba, but the Guaguanco rumba, a dance during which the gentleman follows the lady in search of contact with his thighs, and the lady tries to avoid it, became widely known. In this dance, the lady seems to be the object of impudent courtship and tries to restrain the passion of her partner. Perhaps because of this, the name “dance of love” stuck to the rumba.
Also in Cuba there were various types of rumba, which were danced at holidays and just gatherings of people on the street. A prominent representative is Rumba Mimetica, which depicts various scenes from the life of ordinary people (Papilote, Mama "buela, Gavilan)
Rumba underwent a radical evolution when it was exported to the USA. Along with the expansive, erotic Cuban, American Rumba appeared - with more restrained movements and style. It was this version of rumba that spread throughout the world, winning the hearts of several generations of dancers and simply connoisseurs of Latin American culture. Guaguanco mainly consists of African drum rhythms that are superimposed on a clave rhythm representing a shifted accent known as 3-2. Singing without musical accompaniment is reminiscent of ancient Spanish melodies, which are superimposed on the rhythms of African drums. Guaguanco is performed by one or more soloists, the theme and words are invented as the song progresses. The structure of the Guaguanco rhythm is most often based on the Rumba Son rhythm.
Rumba in academic music
Rumba was used in some works by composers of the 20th century, for example, in the ballet D. Milhaud “The Creation of the World” (1923) and in the finale of his Second Piano Concerto.
Emotional content of the dance
Excerpt characterizing Rumba
- Oh, what hurts? - asked the soldier, shaking his shirt over the fire, and, without waiting for an answer, he grunted and added: - You never know how many people have been spoiled in a day - passion!Rostov did not listen to the soldier. He looked at the snowflakes fluttering over the fire and remembered the Russian winter with a warm, bright house, a fluffy fur coat, fast sleighs, healthy body and with all the love and care of the family. “And why did I come here!” he thought.
The next day, the French did not resume the attack, and the rest of Bagration’s detachment joined Kutuzov’s army.
Prince Vasily did not think about his plans. He even less thought of doing evil to people in order to gain benefit. He was only a secular man who had succeeded in the world and made a habit out of this success. He constantly, depending on the circumstances, depending on his rapprochement with people, drew up various plans and considerations, of which he himself was not well aware, but which constituted the entire interest of his life. Not one or two such plans and considerations were in his mind, but dozens, of which some were just beginning to appear to him, others were achieved, and others were destroyed. He did not say to himself, for example: “This man is now in power, I must gain his trust and friendship and through him arrange for a lump sum allowance,” or he did not say to himself: “Pierre is rich, I must lure him to marry his daughter and borrow the 40 thousand I need”; but a man in strength met him, and at that very moment instinct told him that this man could be useful, and Prince Vasily became close to him and at the first opportunity, without preparation, by instinct, flattered, became familiar, talked about what what was needed.
Pierre was under his arm in Moscow, and Prince Vasily arranged for him to be appointed a chamber cadet, which was then equivalent to the rank of state councilor, and insisted that the young man go with him to St. Petersburg and stay in his house. As if absent-mindedly and at the same time with an undoubted confidence that this should be so, Prince Vasily did everything that was necessary in order to marry Pierre to his daughter. If Prince Vasily had thought about his plans ahead, he could not have had such naturalness in his manners and such simplicity and familiarity in his relations with all the people placed above and below himself. Something constantly attracted him to people stronger or richer than himself, and he was gifted with the rare art of catching exactly the moment when it was necessary and possible to take advantage of people.
Pierre, having unexpectedly become a rich man and Count Bezukhy, after recent loneliness and carelessness, felt so surrounded and busy that he only managed to be left alone with himself in bed. He had to sign papers, deal with government offices, the meaning of which he had no clear idea of, ask the chief manager about something, go to an estate near Moscow and receive many people who previously did not want to know about his existence, but now would offended and upset if he didn’t want to see them. All these various persons - businessmen, relatives, acquaintances - were all equally well disposed and affectionately disposed towards the young heir; all of them, obviously and undoubtedly, were convinced of the high merits of Pierre. He constantly heard the words: “With your extraordinary kindness,” or “with your wonderful heart,” or “you yourself are so pure, Count...” or “if only he were as smart as you,” etc., so he He sincerely began to believe in his extraordinary kindness and his extraordinary mind, especially since it always seemed to him, deep down in his soul, that he was really very kind and very smart. Even people who had previously been angry and obviously hostile became tender and loving towards him. Such an angry eldest of the princesses, with a long waist, with hair smoothed like a doll’s, came to Pierre’s room after the funeral. Lowering her eyes and constantly flushing, she told him that she was very sorry for the misunderstandings that had happened between them and that now she felt she had no right to ask for anything, except permission, after the blow that had befallen her, to stay for a few weeks in the house that she loved so much and where made so many sacrifices. She couldn't help but cry at these words. Touched that this statue-like princess could change so much, Pierre took her hand and asked for an apology, without knowing why. From that day on, the princess began to knit a striped scarf for Pierre and completely changed towards him.
– Do it for her, mon cher; “All the same, she suffered a lot from the dead man,” Prince Vasily told him, letting him sign some kind of paper in favor of the princess.
Prince Vasily decided that this bone, a bill of 30 thousand, had to be thrown to the poor princess so that it would not occur to her to talk about Prince Vasily’s participation in the mosaic portfolio business. Pierre signed the bill, and from then on the princess became even kinder. Little sisters They also became affectionate towards him, especially the youngest, pretty, with a mole, often embarrassed Pierre with her smiles and embarrassment at the sight of him.
It seemed so natural to Pierre that everyone loved him, it would seem so unnatural if someone did not love him, that he could not help but believe in the sincerity of the people around him. Moreover, he did not have time to ask himself about the sincerity or insincerity of these people. He constantly had no time, he constantly felt in a state of meek and cheerful intoxication. He felt like the center of some important general movement; felt that something was constantly expected of him; that if he didn’t do this, he would upset many and deprive them of what they expected, but if he did this and that, everything would be fine - and he did what was required of him, but something good remained ahead.
More than anyone else at this first time, Prince Vasily took possession of both Pierre’s affairs and himself. Since the death of Count Bezukhy, he has not let Pierre out of his hands. Prince Vasily had the appearance of a man weighed down by affairs, tired, exhausted, but out of compassion, unable to finally abandon this helpless young man, the son of his friend, to the mercy of fate and the swindlers, apres tout, [in the end,] and with such a huge fortune. In those few days that he stayed in Moscow after the death of Count Bezukhy, he called Pierre to himself or came to him himself and prescribed to him what needed to be done, in such a tone of fatigue and confidence, as if he was saying every time:
“Vous savez, que je suis accable d"affaires et que ce n"est que par pure charite, que je m"occupe de vous, et puis vous savez bien, que ce que je vous propose est la seule chose faisable." [ You know, I’m overwhelmed with business; but it would be merciless to leave you like this; of course, what I’m telling you is the only possible thing.]
