Deirdre Tarrant

Deirdre Elizabeth Anne Tarrant (born 1946) is a New Zealand dancer, dance teacher and choreographer. She was the founding director of Footnote Dance and is principal of the Tarrant Dance Studios. She danced with the New Zealand Ballet Company while studying for a Bachelor of Arts degree at Victoria University of Wellington in 1967.

Tarrant founded Footnote Dance in 1985. She led that company until 2012, when she handed over to Malia Johnston. She has been a vocational examiner for the Royal Academy of Dance. She is principal of the Tarrant Dance Studios. She was promoted to Companion in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours for "services to contemporary dance".

In 2006 she was one of the first distinguished alumni to be appointed by the Victoria University of Wellington.

Personal Tarrant married actor Peter Leo McKenzie in 1971.