Laya attended her first tap class as a child in her hometown of Detroit, MI and in high school spent time in LA training at The Edge. While studying for her BA in Arts Administration, Dance & Business at Indiana University she was co-director of their In-Motion Dance Company.
Since moving to New York Laya has created showcase choreography for Steps on Broadway, Dance New Amsterdam and Fordham University's dance team. She has worked in the South Bronx as an "artist teacher" for a program aimed at reintroducing art classes to middle schools that have experienced budget cuts.
Laya has taught workshops and master classes around the United states and abroad in Canada, Australia, Israel and has one scheduled for Cyprus in 2009. She has also choreographed and appeared in an instructional hip hop DVD and has been featured in several publications.