Born in Atlanta, Tessa started dancing at the age of two, and at nine began training with The Atlanta Ballet. During high school she studied the RAD syllabus and passed all vocational exams with the highest honor of Distinction, qualifying her for the Adeline Genée International Ballet Competition (now Margot Fonteyn) where she was a semi-finalist. In 2015 Tessa launched her professional career with The Georgia Ballet and quickly progressed to principal roles by 2018. She then joined Eugene Ballet in Oregon and toured the Pacific Northwest performing corps de ballet and demi-soloist roles in The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, as well as in original productions by Artistic Director Toni Pimble and Resident Choreographer Suzanne Haag. Tessa possesses a decade of teaching experience in various styles, and in 2021 moved to South Carolina to become Gracefully Fierce Dance Company’s Ballet and Pointe Director, in addition to choreographing award winning competition pieces. With a recent move to Chicago in the fall of 2024, Tessa is currently an instructor at All About Dance, and is excited for her first season with Chicago Repertory Ballet.