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Dave Toole OBE (1964 – 2020)

Mon 19 October 2020

Dancer and Trinity Laban alum Dave Toole has passed away aged 56.

A founding member of Candoco Dance Company, Dave Toole trained at Trinity Laban and graduated with a BA (Hons) in 1993.

Over the course of his thirty-year career the Leeds-born professional dancer worked with Slung Low theatre company, StopGap Dance Company, DV8 and the Royal Shakespeare Company, touring internationally. In 2012 he performed in front of a live audience of 80,000 people at the opening ceremony of the London Paralympics, an event watched by a TV audience of 146 million. He was appointed OBE for services to dance and to people with disabilities in January.

Paying tribute in a blog post, Director of Slung Low Alan Lane described the dancer’s 2012 performance as “mighty, beautiful and with a grace utterly beyond the ordinary human”.

In a statement on Candoco’s website, Artistic Director Charlotte Darbyshire shared that Dave was “an exceptional dancer whose outstanding presence and performance changed the dance world.”

Dave Toole passed away on Friday 16 October 2020. Our thoughts are with his family.

Image: Dave Toole performing at 2012 Paralympics (credit Lynne Cameron / Press Association)