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Natural born talent

David Toole | Martin Bruch | Alice Martineau
Alison Jones | Steve Day | Ben Cove

David Toole

  David Toole
 
David Toole

At 3ft 2in, David Toole doesn't quite match the stature of an archetypal dancer, but that hasn't stopped him from doing what he enjoys most for a living. An amputee with no legs, he is active, independent and agile and gets around with surprising grace, whether using his wheelchair or just his hands and arms.

His life before he became a dancer was physically demanding too. David worked as a postman in Leeds for nine years before he was spotted during the first CandoCo dance workshop and invited to join the company. A year's dance training at the Laban Centre in London followed, after which David enjoyed five years touring the world in a wide range of shows.

Since leaving CandoCo in 1996, David has worked with the highly acclaimed DV8 Dance Company and pursued his talent for acting through the Graeae Theatre Company. More recently, he has been instrumental in forming Company Pike, a new theatre group that is performing at the 2002 Edinburgh Festival. Whatever paths in life have presented themselves, David has never let his disability dictate which one he should follow, nor prevent him from becoming 'One of the most beautiful and extraordinary performers ... ever seen.' (Lloyd Newsom, Director DV8)

Watch David Toole dance

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