Leyda "Lady Sol" Garcia

Leyda “Lady Sol” Garcia is a humble Mexican-American-XICANA, a street dance professional, mother, and wife from Chicago's proudest community, Humboldt Park. She was trained within Chicago and New York City's Black Dance community among greats such as Kamikazi House Dance Crew, Mama Efé McWorter of the legendary Joseph Holmes Dance Theater,  Chicago Hip-Hop pioneers Dem Dare, Baba Idy Ciss of Muntu Dance Theater, 90's Hip-Hop entertainment choreographer Leslie "Big Lez" Segar (Mary J Blige & Heavy D.), and Reggae/Dancehall giants Jessica Phoenix Fiyah and Chad “Global Bob” Torrington.

Lady Sol has passionately worked her entire life to become a globally recognized teaching artist, creative director, and a newly selected Hip-Hop Diplomat for the Meridian Center for Cultural Diplomacy's Next Level USA Cohort 10.0 sponsored by the US Department of Education. 

She has been fortunate to be featured in major media outlets including BET, MTV, NBC, and TBS, alongside super-stars Busta Rhymes, Cedric the Entertainer, Dancehall Queen Patra, Ellen DeGeneres, Elephant Man, Lauryn Hill, Wyclef Jean and Damian Marley. One of her proudest moments includes winning her first award in the teaching arts granted by 3Arts Chicago.

Lady Sol is responsible for professionalizing, mentoring, creatively directing, and presenting Chicago’s Footwork/Juke culture on global stages from 2006-2015 via King Charles and the FootworKINGz (FWK). FWK has performed with the Chicago Sinfonietta, IBM, Madonna, Missy Elliott, Nike, Red Bull, and Will.I.Am. Lady Sol also produced and choreographed FWK dance theater shows at New York City’s Apollo Theater, Lincoln Center, and the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.

While working in the mainstream has had its privileges, nothing lasts or comes easy. Since 1997, Ms. Garcia has served as an independent teaching artist and youth development worker for numerous Chicago arts education organizations including Urban Gateways, After School Matters, and Kuumba Lynx, Chicago’s all women led Hip-Hop arts organization co-founded by Jacinda Bullie, Jaquanda Saulter, and Lady Sol. She has worked tirelessly to become a self-titled Professor of Practice who has taught fusions of Afro-Caribbean-Hip-Hop movement guest workshops at Harvard, Northwestern, Stanford, University of Chicago, and the Dance Center at Columbia College. 

In 2015, she partnered with Jessica “Phoenix” Brundidge and co-founded FIYAH Fit USA, an Afro-Caribbean music and dance fitness experience that has evolved into “Move Like Goddess" (MLG) in 2020. MLG honors and celebrates all women who seek to boost their confiDANCE and reclaim their sensuality. 

Her literary work, Lady Sol’s Dance Diary (LSDD) is an autobiographical solo show that humorously explores the difficulties of navigating a cross-cultural identity, the industry politics in Hip-Hop culture, and the growing pains of uncovering self-love. LSDD was presented as a work in progress in 2020 at Kennedy King College under the direction of Sandra Delgado. LSDD monologues were also commissioned into a digital format by Kuumba Lynx in 2021. Lady Sol has begun the process writing and working toward self-publishing her first book to accompany LSDD.

Ms Garcia is a current cohort member of Chicago's first ever arts therapy pilot program Healing Arts Chicago where she is implementing a mindfully accessible mat and chair movement offering titled, "Move 2 Live." Lady Sol facilitates free, weekly guided workshops that center slow movement, stretching, and breath work through the end of 2024 in partnership with the Department of Chicago Cultural Affairs.

Lady Sol’s immense gratitude is endowed to her three mothers Maria Garcia, Maricela Rodriguez, and Efe McWorter, all of whom have granted Lady Sol wisdom and purpose as a teaching artist. In her own words, “I will continue advocating for street culture by teaching, presenting, and promoting it until my last breath.”