Helen Tamiris (born Helen Becker; April 23, 1902 – August 4, 1966) was an American choreographer, modern dancer, and teacher.

Tamiris began her studies in modern dance at the Henry Street Settlement as a child, and began her career in the field of ballet. Tamiris refocused to modern dance, making her solo debut in 1928, with a focus on social activism. Tamiris was a leader in the Federal Theatre Project and its sister projects, arguing for modern dance as an art form, and choreographing multiple productions. In her later career, Tamiris choreographed on Broadway, winning a Tony Award in 1949 for her choreography in Touch and Go.

Tamiris was born Helen Becker in New York City on April 23, 1902, to Isor and Rose (Simonov) Becker. Her parents and brothers Maurice and Charles Becker immigrated from Nizhny Novgorod, Russia a decade earlier, fleeing pogroms. The family settled on the Lower East Side, where many other Russian Jewish immigrants lived at that time. Two more children, Samuel and Peter, in addition to Helen, were born in New York City. Becker's siblings were similarly artistic. Her oldest brother Maurice became a well-known artist and illustrator, and brothers Samuel and Peter took up sculpting and art collecting, respectively. Rose died when Helen was three, leaving the family in the care of Isor.

As a child, Becker was constantly in motion, and her father enrolled her in dance classes at the Henry Street Settlement at the age of eight. The Henry Street Settlement's dance program taught "interpretive dancing," an early form of modern dance taking inspiration from Dalcroze eurhythmics and the work of Isadora Duncan. The early education with the creative freedom of interpretive dance would inform her work as a choreographer for many years.

Becker attended New York City public schools, graduating from Eastern District High School in 1918, and later studying economics and labor statistics at the Rand School from 1918 to 1920. Her focus on labor statistics preceded her later works in union organizing, a key element of her legacy.

Becker auditioned for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet at age 15, and was accepted, despite her lack of ballet and pointe experience. She trained with the Met for one season, then performed in the corps de ballet for four seasons. Before her final season, she joined the Bracale Opera Company as a soloist on a tour of South America in the summer of 1922.

Upon her return from South America, Becker performed with the Met for another season, while studying with Russian ballet choreographer Michel Fokine. She then danced in a Broadway production of Casanova for which Fokine choreographed the prologue. Dissatisfied with ballet, Becker studied at the Isadora Duncan School, but left after three months. Her autobiography cited the reasons for leaving as "I don't want to be a Duncan dancer - or a ballet dancer - I want to be myself - But what was myself?"

With her independence in mind, Becker worked in commercial dance, including at nightclubs and the Music Box Review on Broadway. She took on the stage name of "Tamiris," from a line in a Persian poem: "Thou art Tamiris, the ruthless queen who banishes all obstacles."