Charles Atlas "Hail the New Puritan" 1985-86. Courtesy Electronic Arts Intermix (EAI), New York.
This defining work from Charles Atlas, the acclaimed father of dance film, is a heady mix of sly humour, riveting dance and audacious eroticism set against the sprawling energy of the '80s London post-punk scene.
Tracking a day in the life of legendary Scottish choreographer Michael Clark, then 23, Atlas shot the film as a tongue-in-cheek mockumentary, following the flamboyant Clark as he and his company prepare for a performance of The New Puritans.
Backed by a raucous soundtrack from The Fall, Hail the New Puritan is character portrait turned fantasy voyage, a strange sideways glimpse into the mind of a man who defined the choreographic extravagances of a newly decadent London.
