Dancer and choreographer Micha Scott has been named 2026 Santa Cruz County Artist of the Year by the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission.
Scott is a professional dancer, teacher and choreographer who has performed on stages around the world as a 13-year senior member of the Garth Fagan Dance company. While in the company, she performed leading roles in many of Garth Fagan’s choreographies, including “From Before,” “Collage For Romie,” “Transition/Translation” and the collaboration with trumpeter and composer Wynton Marsalis, “Griot New York,” which was filmed and televised on PBS’ “Dance in America” series.
The Arts Commission said the Artist of the Year award is presented to local artists “for outstanding achievement in the discipline of performing, visual or literary arts who have also made a substantial contribution to the cultural enrichment of Santa Cruz County.”
A free profile performance will be held at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History on June 5 from 7-9pm. Admission is free and open to the public. Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis the night of the event; advance tickets are not available.
Since moving from New York to Santa Cruz in 2008, Scott has been deeply involved in the local dance community, with particular focus on being an advocate for the Black youth dance community. She has served as executive director since 2021 and artistic director since 2011 at Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center, where she highlights artistic traditions passed on to her by Garth Fagan, including technical and performance training and incorporating traditions from the Black American experience through music, discussions around race, advocacy and the arts.
She has taught at Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center, Dancenter, UC Santa Cruz, Cabrillo College, Motion Pacific, Santa Clara University, SUNY Brockport, Mountain School and Mount Madonna School, as well as public schools and private studios throughout Santa Cruz and Monterey counties. She also serves on the Black Health Matters advisory board and volunteers with Your Future Is Our Business as a guest career panelist in local public schools.
In 2022, Scott founded the annual Deep Roots Dance Fest, bringing artists of the African diaspora to Santa Cruz to perform contemporary dances rooted in traditional forms. In 2023, she traveled to the Republic of Congo to perform a solo and train young dancers at the Tokomi Festival in Brazzaville. In winter 2024, she performed in New York as a guest soloist with Garth Fagan Dance.
Scott has worked with choreographers including Norwood “PJ” Pennewell, Sharon Skepple Mayfield, Tandy Beal, Gervais Tomadiatunga and Ramón Ramos Alayo, among others.
The Arts Commission said, “As a biracial Black woman, Scott 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.”
She served on grants panels at Arts Council Santa Cruz County from 2021-25 and the California Arts Council from 2023-24, and recently served as a guest panelist for The Great Cabrillo Arts Design Challenge at Cabrillo College. She has secured more than $120,000 in grants over the past four years to bolster Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center’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.
Over the past 42 years, the Santa Cruz County Arts Commission has selected outstanding artists nominated by the public and honored them through the Artist of the Year Award. Nominees must be residents of Santa Cruz County, have a national or international reputation, have contributed to the cultural enrichment of the local community, and have created or presented work in Santa Cruz County.
More information, including how to nominate an artist for the award, is available at scparks.com.
