Charles Atlas Hail the New Puritan (1985 6)

198586, 84:47 min, color, sound Exhuberant and witty, Hail the New Puritan is a simulated dayinthelife docufantasy starring the British dance celebrity Michael Clark. Atlas fictive portrait of the charismatic choreographer serves as a vivid invocation of the studied decadence of the 1980s postpunk London subculture. Contriving a faux cinemaverite format in which to stage his stylized fiction, Atlas seamlessly integrates Clark s extraordinary dance performances into the docunarrative flow. Focusing on Clark s flamboyantly postured eroticism and the artifice of his provocative balletic performances, Atlas posits the dance as a physical manifestation of Clark s psychology. From the surreal opening dream sequence to the final solo dance, Clark s milieu of fashion, clubs and music signifies for Atlas a time capsule of a certain period and context in London that s now Director, Editor: Charles Atlas. Choreography: Michael Clark. Dancers: Gaby Agis, Leslie Bryant, Michael Clark, Matthew Hawkins, Ju