In 1970, Charles Atlas moved to New York City from St. Louis, Missouri. He was 20, ambitious, and dreamt of becoming a filmmaker. Instead, Atlas began working as the assistant stage manager for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company. It was a happy accident. He worked his way up to lighting designer, then became the company’s filmmaker-in-residence. Together, Cunningham and Atlas developed a technique called “media-dance,” in which the dance is made for the camera and the camera moves as part of the dance. Though he left the Cunningham company in 1983, Atlas has been collaborating with performers ever since—Michael Clark, Marina Abramović, and the late Leigh Bowery, to name a few. The ICA Boston presents work by Atlas from over 50 years, with several multi-channel video installations on view. —Elena Clavarino