Tessa Redman (she/her) is a freelance performance artist originally from Boorloo (Perth, Western Australia), now based in Tāmaki Makaurau. She is a 2019 graduate of the New Zealand School of Dance and a recent alumni of École Philippe Gaulier.

Tessa now works with an interest in in exploring the art of love as a performative practice. At the core, her work is underpinned by romantic sentiment, whilst retaining an emphasis on play and an exploration of what it means to be silly. Tessa aims to create inclusive, live artwork that can be resonantly felt within and far beyond the dance community. She focuses on theatricality, comedy, and the pure, raw, childlike joy of dance.

Since graduating, Tessa has worked with many artists and collectives including House of Sand, Discotheque and Hannah Tasker-Poland. Her recent solo work ‘I’m Not Going To Lie To You’ was described as “a fabulous exploration of girlhood and womanhood, silliness and severity, realism and dream, theatre and dance” (Theatreview). Most recently, in 2022 Tessa was invited to the Impulstanz Dance Festival in Vienna to work on a new choreographic development.

Tessa has recently returned to Aotearoa after exploring the European theatre scene. She will be performing back in Te Whanganui-a-Tara from 21-25 February with her new solo, 'LOVE/LOVE/LOVE/LOVE/LOVE'.

Tessa is deeply in love.

Image by Trantham Gordon