Toole, from Leeds, performed a touching aerial routine suspended above the Olympic Stadium during the Ceremony.

Born without the use of his legs, Toole had them amputated when he was 18 months old and in January he was appointed an Officer of the British Empire, one of the highest honours in Britain, for his services to dance and disabled people.

Toole had been speaking on social media about struggling with dialysis and passed away the following day.

His exact cause of death has not been confirmed.

Artistic director of the SlungLow theatre company, Alan Lane, described Toole as an "extraordinary talent" and called his 2012 performance "mighty, beautiful and with a grace utterly beyond the ordinary human".

The professional dancer had nearly 30 years experience having toured the world in a number of productions.

"We are all so sad to hear of Dave Toole's passing," Lane said in a blog post.

"It was such a privilege to make so many adventures with him.

"He had an extraordinary talent; he was a brilliant actor and the very finest dancer we've ever seen."

Toole worked in Leeds with other companies such as StopGap Dance Company and DV8.

In a 2013 interview with the BBC, he spoke about how his routines were built around his everyday movement.

"I got around on my hands at home, standing on one hand to reach up to turn lights on and off and things, so I used things like that in performing," said Toole.

"It looked amazing, but to me it was no big deal, but it looked good.

"Things like that worked in my favour and I never questioned it because I seemed to be good at something."

The Paralympics Opening Ceremony was watched by a television audience of 146 million, while 80,000 people were in attendance inside the stadium.