Biography

Micha Scott is a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer who has performed on stages around the world as a 13- year senior member with the renowned Garth Fagan Dance. While in the company, she performed leading roles in many of Mr. Fagan’s choreographies including ‘From Before’, ‘Collage For Romie’, 'Transition/Translation' and the groundbreaking collaboration with trumpeter/composer Wynton Marsalis, ‘Griot New York’.

Moving from New York to Santa Cruz in 2008, Micha is deeply involved in the local dance community, with particular focus on being an advocate for the Black youth dance community. As Executive Director (since 2021) and Artistic Director (since 2011) at Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center (TWDCC), she highlights the artistic traditions passed on to her by Garth Fagan. This includes not only the technical and performance aspects of dance but also incorporating traditions from the Black American experience through music, discussions around race, advocacy and the arts. Locally Micha has taught at TWDCC, Dancenter, Mountain School, UCSC, SCU, Cabrillo College, Motion Pacific, as well as public schools and private studios throughout the County. She serves on the Advisory Board of Black Health Matters, and as a grants panelist at the California Arts Council.

In 2023 Micha started the annual Deep Roots Dance Fest, bringing to the Santa Cruz stage artists of the African Diaspora to perform original contemporary dances rooted in their traditional forms. In 2023, she traveled to Congo to perform a solo and train young dancers at the Tokomi Festival in Brazzaville, a professional highlight. In the winter of 2024, Micha performed in NYC as a guest soloist with Garth Fagan Dance company.

As a biracial Black woman, Micha is deeply committed to advocating for equity in the arts, including access to funding, professional development, and artistic exposure. In her work, she actively elevates black and immigrant artists. It is her honor to collaborate with many renowned choreographers, including Norwood ‘PJ’ Pennewell (Bessie Award winner), Sharon Skepple Mayfield (Bessie Award winner), Tandy Beal (Tandy Beal & Company), Ramon Ramos Alayo (Alayo Dance Company / CubaCaribe), N’Jelle Gage Thorne (FuturPointe), Sade Bully (CDT Jamaica), Gervais Tomadiatunga (Danseincolore, Congo’s Knight of Arts and Letters) and many more. She feels incredibly blessed to be a part of the legacy of Garth Fagan Dance and pass on what she has learned and experienced to her students and professional colleagues.

Micha served on the grants panel at Arts Council Santa Cruz County from 2021-2025, volunteered with Your Future Is Our Business since 2024 as a guest career panelist in local public schools representing the arts, and recently served as a guest panelist for The Great Cabrillo Arts Design Challenge at Cabrillo College in September 2025. She has secured more than $120,000.00 in grants over the past 4 years to bolster TWDCC's youth scholarship program, ensuring that every child in Santa Cruz County who wants to dance is not barred from participation due to lack of income.