VIDEO: Watch Buckingham Palace’s “Pirouetting Guard”
September 17, 2014

British papers are abuzz with news of subversive behavior by a royal guard. Now, prepare yourself—to our brash American eyes, it might not look like much, but those little pauses, changes in tempo and especially the smooth chaîné turns are not part of the guard’s typical ritual. But they are entertaining, even artistic. In fact, The New York Times’ dance critic (and Britain native) Alastair Macaulay hails this guard as having a “dancer’s instinct of how to play with time, to prolong the passing moment.” Plus, the routine’s solemn subtlety demonstrates British absurdist humor to a tee. The scene is fit for a Monty Python sketch—John Cleese would be proud.