Roz Hervey (1965 or 1966 – 8 November 2024) was an Australian dancer, choreographer, director and theatrical producer. She was known for roles as co-founder of and associate artist with Sydney dance-theatre company

Force Majeure In contract law, force majeure ( ; ) is a common clause in contracts which essentially frees both parties from liability or obligation when an extraordinary event or circumstance beyond the control of the parties, such as a war, strike, riot, ...

, as director of the

Adelaide Fringe Adelaide Fringe, formerly Adelaide Fringe Festival, is Australia’s biggest arts festival and is the world's second-largest annual arts festival (after the Edinburgh Festival Fringe), held in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. Between ...

parade from 2013 until 2016, and finally, from around 2013, as creative director of Restless Dance Theatre in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

. She also worked with many other theatre and dance companies, as well as festivals and other events.

Early life and education

Roz Hervey was born in 1965 or 1966, and was a dance graduate of the Centre for the Performing Arts in Adelaide. In March 1980, Hervey appeared in youth theatre production ''Filthy Children'', which was presented as part of the

Adelaide Festival The Adelaide Festival of Arts, also known as the Adelaide Festival, an arts festival, takes place in the South Australian capital of Adelaide in March each year. Started in 1960, it is a major celebration of the arts and a significant cultural ...

Career

Hervey worked as a dancer, choreographer, director, and producer.

Dance, choreography, and theatre direction

In April 1987, Hervey performed in ''Waltz'' with the newly-formed theatre group

The Sydney Front The Sydney Front was an Australian performance group in existence between 1986 and 1993, with one return performance in 2004. Based in Sydney, New South Wales, they toured Australia and internationally. They became known internationally with their ...

, a work composed by Sarah de Jong and directed by Nigel Kellaway and performed at the

Performance Space Performance Space, later Performance Space at Carriageworks, is an arts organisation based in Sydney, Australia, that develops and presents interdisciplinary arts and experimental theatre. History Performance Space was established in 1983 in a ...

in Redfern,

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

. She co-founded

, along with Kate Champion and Geoff Cobham, in 2002. In that year she performed in one of their major works, created by Champion, called ''Same, same But Different'', along with Nathan Page,

Ben Winspear Ben Winspear is an Australian actor and director. He has an extensive history performing various roles for theatre, and on screen is known for appearing in the comedy drama series '' Bay of Fires'' (2023). He is co-owner, with his wife Marta D ...

, and others. The work was performed at

Sydney Festival Sydney Festival is a major arts festival in Australia's largest city, Sydney, that runs for three weeks every January since it was established in 1977. The festival program features over 100 events from local and international artists and inclu ...

Brisbane Festival Brisbane Festival is one of Australia's leading international arts festivals, and is held each September in Brisbane, Australia. Its presence dominates the city for three weeks in September and its line-up of classical and contemporary music, t ...

Sydney Opera House The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue Performing arts center, performing arts centre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Located on the foreshore of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive b ...

, and the

Melbourne Festival Melbourne International Arts Festival, formerly Spoleto Festival Melbourne – Festival of the Three Worlds, then Melbourne International Festival of the Arts, becoming commonly known as Melbourne Festival, was a major international arts festi ...

. She was associate director on Force Majeure's ''Never Did Me Any Harm'', a collaboration with

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in the Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Theatre ...

, which premiered at the Sydney Festival in 2012, played at the

in the same year, and in 2016 toured to regional

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

, and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

. She worked at the company for over ten years as associate artist. As a dancer, Hervey worked with many companies, including One Extra Company,

, Dancenorth, Theatre of Image, Sue Healey, Meryl Tankard Company, DV8, and Force Majeure, touring extensively with the groups in Australia and internationally. As a choreographer, she worked for South Australian companies such as

Brink Productions Brink Productions is an Australian theatre company based in Adelaide, South Australia, specialising in the ensemble-development of new writing. Founded in 1996, its productions have toured interstate, and the company continues to produce stage ...

, Slingsby, Patch Theatre Company, and Theatre Republic. For Theatre Republic, she was movement choreographer on its inaugural production, ''LINES'', written by British playwright Pamela Carter and presented at the Bakehouse Theatre in October–November 2018. For Patch, she co-created and directed the award-winning ''Me and My Shadow'', and ''Zooom''. ''Me and My Shadow'' was first performed at The Forge at Marryatville High School in May 2010, and over the following decade was presented around Australia as well as in the United States. It toured regional SA in 2020. ''Zooom'' has toured Australia, Canada, and the US since premiering at the Space Theatre in July–August 2019. It was also performed at the DreamBIG Festival in May 2021, and won the 2021 Ruby Award for Best Work, Event or Project for Young People.

Restless Dance Theatre

From around 2013 until her death, Hervey was creative producer for Restless Dance Theatre, a well-known dance company that employs artists with and without disability. She was concept creator and

dramaturg A dramaturge or dramaturg (from Ancient Greek δραματουργός – dramatourgós) is a literary adviser or editor in a theatre, opera, or film company who researches, selects, adapts, edits, and interprets scripts, libretti, texts, and pr ...

on the company's show ''Private View'' for the 2024

Events

Hervey worked as an event co-ordinator for the 2000 opening night concert as well of the

, as well as the late-night festival club, and for the 2001

Come Out Festival DreamBIG Children's Festival, formerly Come Out Festival or Come Out Children's Festival, is a large biennial arts festival for schools and families held in South Australia. History The festival began as the Come Out Festival in 1974 as part of ...

opening and parade. She also directed the Adelaide Fringe parade from 2013 until 2016. She was

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

for SA day 1999, and of "Bundaleer Weekend Forest Walks", part of the 2003 Bundaleer Weekend in the

Mid North The Mid North is a region of South Australia, north of the Adelaide Plains and south of the Far North and the outback. It is generally accepted to extend from Spencer Gulf east to the Barrier Highway, including the coastal plain, the souther ...

of the state. This involved directing and choreographing 30 performances of music, poetry, theatre, acrobatics, sport, and dance in the forest, for visitors to explore on the Sunday afternoon of the weekend. Hervey co-directed the Come Out Festival opening in 2005. She was creative producer/event director on the 2024 History Festival, run by the

History Trust of South Australia The History Trust of South Australia, sometimes referred to as History SA, was created as a statutory corporation by the ''History Trust of South Australia Act 1981'', to safeguard South Australia’s heritage and to encourage research and publi ...

Other activities

Hervey taught movement at Flinders Drama Centre. She was a board member of the women's arts organisation Vitalstatistix at

Port Adelaide Port Adelaide is a port-side region of Adelaide, approximately northwest of the Adelaide city centre, Adelaide CBD. It is also the namesake of the City of Port Adelaide Enfield council, a suburb, a federal and state electoral division and is t ...

. She was also a board member at Theatre Republic until her resignation in November 2022.

Recognition and awards

* 2002:

Ausdance The Australian Dance Council, known as Ausdance or Ausdance National and formerly the Australian Association for Dance Education (AADE), is or was the national dance advocacy organisation in Australia, representing the dance profession and coordi ...

"Outstanding performance by a female dancer" award, for her performance in Force Majeure's ''Same But Different'', created by Kate Champion.

Personal life

Hervey's life partner was Patch Theatre's artistic director Geoff Cobham ("Cobby"), after meeting at the 1986 Adelaide Festival, where they were both working for One Extra Dance Theatre, who were on tour from Sydney. Their children are actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey and her brother Huey. She has been quoted as often expressing variations on the following beliefs and principles:

Later life, death, and legacy

Hervey was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in late 2022. She received support from the NDIS, and chose to live life to the fullest, to continue to work, have holidays with family, and spend time with those she loved. Hervey chose to use the state's voluntary assisted dying scheme, which had come into effect in January 2023. She died on 8 November 2024, at the age of 58, leaving a farewell letter which included the quote from Dr Seuss: "Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened". Many tributes flowed in after her death from companies and people she had worked with, recognising her contribution to the arts in Australia and her personal qualities such as kindness and integrity, that made her so well-liked. Restless Dance Theatre posted on social media Restless Dance Theatre called her their "amazing creative producer extraordinaire", saying that she had continued working incredibly hard even after her MND diagnosis, and also said later "Her influence lifted Restless Dance Theatre to new heights".

Creative Australia Creative Australia, formerly known as the Australia Council for the Arts and the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announc ...

's head of dance Sarah Greentree said Hervey "was a powerhouse of Australian dance who wowed audiences around the world". She was also acknowledged in the SA Parliament by Arts Minister Andrea Michaels on 13 November 2024.

Footnotes

References

External links

Roz Hervey
on

AusStage AusStage: The Australian Live Performance Database is an online database which records information about live performances in Australia, providing records of productions from the first recorded performance in Australia (1789, by convicts) up unt ...

Tribute and photos
on Restless Dance Company website {{DEFAULTSORT:Hervey, Roz 1960s births Year of birth uncertain 2024 deaths 2024 suicides Australian women choreographers Australian women theatre directors 21st-century dancers Australian artistic directors