David, along with Peter Randazzo & Patricia Beatty, founded the groundbreaking Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) in 1968. The company was beloved worldwide, and David's work earned him accolades including the Order of Canada & the Governor General's Award.

 

When I first discovered dance as a rebellious teen, though, it was the "post-modern" variety that attracted me – TDT's brand of "modern" seemed old-fashioned. I later became friends with Bill Coleman, who was dancing with the company, and quickly learned how wrong I was about David's choreography, and how timeless it truly is: classic, modern, and absolutely contemporary at once. 

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Especially significant me to is that it speaks to audiences of all kinds, from all backgrounds. Even those who don't normally attend modern dance find themselves swept up in the sheer musicality of the movement and affected by the grace and humanity of his dancers. 

 

David is also a master teacher, a natural pedagogue. And, like many other people, I learn from him every time we talk – sometimes something profound, sometimes just a juicy anecdote from NY in the '60s, where he studied with Martha Graham & other luminaries.

 

David continues to teach and choreograph, running Dancetheatre David Earle with Michael English.