In memory of Peter Randazzo

Peter Randazzo 
January 2, 1943 – February 2, 2026

It is with heavy hearts we share news that Peter Randazzo passed on February 2, 2026 in Guelph, Ontario surrounded by the deep loving care of his closest friends. Born in Brooklyn on January 2, 1943, Peter performed as a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company before moving to Toronto to co-found Toronto Dance Theatre (TDT) and its affiliated school (now Dance Arts) alongside Patrica Beatty and David Earle. Peter taught and inspired many generations of dancers, and played a significant role in shaping Toronto’s dance community through an intense and unrelenting physicality in class and choreography. His choreographic works were known for their dramatic intent and unapologetic technical rigour. Many of them, including well-remembered A Simple Melody and Recital, remained in TDT’s repertoire for years, and were an important part of Canadian modern dance history.

When the founders were inducted into Dance Collection Danse’s Hall of Fame, Susan Macpherson, former company dancer and Artistic Associate of the School of Toronto Dance Theatre, commented, “The work that David, Peter and Trish began when they founded the company and School has nurtured and inspired hundreds – more likely thousands – of artists, many of whom they have not even met…Their work has left and is still leaving a magnificent legacy in the world of dance.” 

We are grateful for this legacy and for the ambitious creative force that Peter was, for his maniacal laugh, and the vision he had that challenged so many dancers to go beyond what they thought was possible – to then impact audiences and the form alike. 

In 2022, Peter Randazzo said of his choreographic process: “I would usually start out sitting facing the stage, and then I would go to the place that I would call the hole in the space, and I would go to that space and see how it would move me. And I would move from that space into the next space. And that’s how I’d start making a dance.”