The Syncopated Ladies have made their mark on tap dance by combining it with various genres, including hip-hop, funk, African and R&B music.
Founded by Emmy-nominated tap dancer and choreographer Chloé Arnold and her sister, Maud, the group has worked with Beyoncé and “So You Think You Can Dance,” gotten more than 100 million views online and performed on “Good Morning America.”
They will bring their “Syncopated Ladies Live!” show to Fox Tucson Theatre on Friday, Feb. 28. The group is hosting a school matinee on Thursday, Feb. 27.
Their show weaves dance with stories of the dancers appearing onstage.
“All of the women tell their personal stories. You get to really know each woman, the thing that’s dear to them and what drives them and moves them forward,” Chloé said.
They also incorporate multimedia elements and a live singer into their performances.
Chloé said often, tap dance is associated with men such as Gregory Hines, Fred Astaire, the Nicholas Brothers and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson. She hopes to showcase how women have shaped and continue to shape the art form.
“Our mission is to celebrate the unknown names and voices by asserting who we are, being proud of where we come from and making people feel like they should be proud too,” Chloé said.
Chloé said that with Syncopated Ladies, members can express themselves through tap.
“What I think we’ve been able to do with Syncopated Ladies is celebrate the art form as a language,” Chloé said.
“The way we speak this language is very true to ourselves. We use music that represents our life journey, culturally speaking. The way we stylize our tap dancing is specific and physically aligned with the music. If it’s more of a hip-hop vibe, that’s what you’ll see in our physicality. If it’s a more Afrobeats vibe, that’s what we deliver. If it’s Prince, you’ll sense that vibe. If it’s Michael Jackson, you’ll notice that energy. We truly embody the music, the style and the feel, however, the language being spoken is tap dance.”
Chloé said they draw audience members from different backgrounds and age groups. They have had audience members as young as 3 years old to Chloé’s 102-year-old grandma.
“Our overarching message is to be authentically yourself, to celebrate who you are and where you come from, to dream without limits and just to know your infinite possibility. I think ultimately, that’s what speaks to everyone,” Chloé said.
They try to bring an interactive show where audiences are encouraged to express themselves in a way that moves them.
“We give you love. Please give that love back. If you feel inspired, stand up. If you want to sing along, sing along. If you want to dance along, dance along. There’s no wrong way to feel. We want it to feel real, just as we’re giving it.”
The group travels with five dancers during tours.
Dancers within Syncopated Ladies start out as Chloé’s dance students.
“I actually have never had auditions for the company,” Chloé said. “It’s always been just from studying how someone takes my class, how they do my work, what kind of person they are, how they treat the other students in the class, all of the things ranging from talent to character and their performance ability,” Chloé said.
Chloé said when students come to her, she wants them to feel motivated and inspired.
“The thing that draws people to it is the energy, whether we’re doing advanced steps or very basic ones. I definitely meet the students at the level where they need to be met. No matter what, everyone is going to dance full-out, with full energy, in a way that makes them fall in love with tap. Once you love it, you’ll be motivated to train more seriously on your rudiments and technique. That’s where the work begins to get more rigorous,” Chloé said.
Chloé said it has always been important to her to maintain a family vibe within the group, which has been touring for about 10 years.
Syncopated Ladies developed over 20 years ago at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy. The actress, choreographer, producer and dancer has been a major influence and mentor for Chloé.
Chloé said she was teaching and training at the studio, and the idea for Syncopated Ladies developed during a jam session with mostly female dancers.
“It was the first time that I’d ever seen so many young girls freestyling and improvising. So, I asked if they wanted to be in a group. They said yes, and the rest is history. Debbie gave us space to create and build the company,” Chloé said.
Chloé and Maud transformed it from a group that performed once a year into a larger platform. The two own and operate their own production company and a foundation that supports underserved communities through dance.
“Through our foundation, we’re teaching 5-year-olds right now. I want it so that when the 5-year-olds become 20-year-olds, 30-year-olds, they have an outlet to be able to perform, be themselves and rock out,” Chloé said.
The two sisters also have their own brand of tap shoes and boots.
Chloé said they use a lot of shoes each year, so it is helpful to have access to free shoes. Their situation was very different when they were younger.
“When we were growing up, tap shoes were quite expensive. If you were fortunate, you received one pair of tap shoes each year. That’s it. By the end of the year, those shoes would be ripping and falling apart. That’s the reality of being struggling artists,” Chloé said.
Chloé said that when they designed the shoes, they were concerned with their comfort, sound and appearance.
Along with their own work, Chloé has choreographed for films and TV shows.
She said they hope to continue to grow and evolve as a company. They are working on a new tap-dance album and would like to produce their own TV shows and films in the future.
“We’ve gone through the ladders of Hollywood in an incredible way and learned so much. We’re at the place where it’s time for us to go to the next level and become executive producers of television and movies,” Chloé said.
They are working on a YouTube docuseries, which chronicles their journey of touring and doing tap across the country.
Chloé went to film school and started out doing travel video blogs of her experiences tap dancing in Prague, Costa Rica and Paris.
She started using YouTube very early on, and the videos of Syncopated Ladies helped them to gain a following.
“It allowed me to put the work out there without having to pay or without having to have someone green light the idea. The reality is what we’re doing is so unique, and people can’t imagine it until they see it. It’s very hard to get producers to put money behind something they don’t understand. By way of us making our own work, that has caught the eye and attention of artists like Beyoncé. By way of her sharing our work and then hiring us to perform for her, she really elevated our entire platform,” Chloé said.
“That came because we created work, and then same for the movie ‘Spirited’ that I choreographed. When I had my interview, the number one thing the director said is, ‘I’ve watched what you have created, and what you have created shows me that I want to collaborate with you, and I want to see what we can make.’”
Syncopated Ladies is based in Los Angeles, although Maud and Chloé hail from Washington, D.C.
The sisters grew up tap dancing together in D.C., but their teacher required them to learn various styles.
This experience helped when Allen, an artist-in-residence at the Kennedy Center, auditioned dancers for a play.
“In that show, we had to do jazz, tap, swing dancing, hip-hop and ballet…That really pushed me to understand I need to go harder and dip deeper. After that experience, I was all-in on learning all styles of dance and staying open minded. I look at dance styles as languages, and I always want to learn more languages. The more languages you speak, the better you communicate. I think that’s why our communication with Syncopated Ladies is working so well is because we are communicating in a multi-disciplined kind of way,” Chloé said.
Syncopated Ladies Live!
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 28
WHERE: Fox Tucson Theatre, 17 W. Congress Street, Tucson
COST: Tickets start at $20
INFO: 520-547-3040, foxtucson.com
