Meet the Kiwi dancer who's performed with Rihanna and Lady Gaga
If you want to know what Rihanna is like or Lady Gaga or Doja Cat just ask South Auckland dancer Teesha Taulepa.
She has performed alongside these icons many times on stages across the world, including at the Super Bowl, on catwalks, even at an Indian palace for the lavish wedding of one of Asia’s richest families.
It’s late afternoon in Los Angeles when I speak to Teesha, on the kind of warm day Southern California does so well.
The 23-year-old is in the US for four months to rehearse for Coachella, the California music festival, where she’ll be dancing for Colombian singer Karol G.
“We’re rehearsing for eight-hours a day for two shows in April,” says Teesha.
Although her work schedule is intense, and she misses her family and boyfriend of three years, Teesha admits there’s nowhere else she’d rather be.
“I’m just a girl from South Auckland who’s getting to live her dream and work with people like Rihanna and Lady Gaga! That’s a pretty big pinch-me moment.”
Teesha has found herself at the business end of good luck more than once in her life, starting when she was five and discovered hip-hop through one of her two older sisters.
“I went along to see my sister dance and they let me join a group called the Baby Beats, for the younger kids, which I loved from the first time I danced.”
When she was 11, Teesha auditioned for The Royal Family Dance Crew, helmed by Kiwi dance sensation Parris Goebel.
“I’d grown up watching videos of Parris, so to be mentored by her was amazing. I wouldn’t be the dancer I am today if it wasn’t for her.”
When Teesha turned 16, she left school to sign up as a full-time dancer, nurturing a career that has seen her work with some of the world’s best performers.
“Dancing has taken me all over the world, from Europe and the US to Asia and places I never thought I’d ever see.”
Or people she never dreamed she’d meet. “Working with Rihanna on her Savage X Fenty fashion shows was an amazing experience. The first time was in 2020, during Covid, and I can remember we had to dance with masks and get tested all the time. But the energy and vibe of the show was everything you’d expect it to be.”
Teesha has danced alongside the Barbadian singer several times since then, including at the 2023 Super Bowl in Arizona, which was watched by 121 million viewers, making it the most-watched half-time performance in US television history at the time.
Which begs the question, what is RiRi like?
“She is so beautiful, more beautiful than she looks in photos. And she’s super nice. Rihanna said to us, ‘There must be something in the water in New Zealand to produce all these amazing dancers.’”
Appearing in Lady Gaga’s 2025 ‘Abracadabra’ music video was another career highlight.
“She recognised me from my TikTok videos (Teesha has 96,000 followers on TikTok and 90,000 on Instagram). I can’t even find the words to describe how amazing it was to be in Lady Gaga’s presence.”
