DNC performer, Syncopated Ladies founder, tap dancer extraordinaire – an Interview with Chloe Arnold
On mentors, using social media as a dancer, performing at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, and how she’s changing the tap game
How did you get started in tap?
My mom put me in a strip mall studio with tap, ballet, and jazz when I was six. That was my first exposure to formal training. But what really made me connect with tap is when my mom saw an ad for a tap company in the newspaper. I went to this audition when I was nine, and I made the company on probation, which meant I had three months to improve my technique, or I wouldn’t be able to stay. So I worked really, really hard.
In that company, I got exposed to tap masters, including Gregory Hines, Nicholas Brothers, Dianne Walker, and Eddie Brown. All these people showed me that tap was an art form, and that it had a viable way of creating a life and a career — and that you could become a tap dancer.
Why do you love tap?
I love tap because it’s an art form where you’re both a musician and a dancer — our tap shoes are our instrument. It’s the perfect marriage of music and dance.
What’s the importance of dancers having good mentors?
Mentors are everything. When I was 16, I auditioned for a play that Debbie Allen was presenting at the Kennedy Center in D.C. There was a role for a tap dancing girl, and there were so few professional tap roles for women when I was growing up. Debbie Allen opened the door for me to have a featured role tap dancing. I got the part, and she became my mentor.
Mentors see the light in you. They help you find that light and make it shine brighter. Being an artist is a challenge, and you need people in your corner that believe in you. The greatest thing I’ve learned from her is that anything is possible. You never give up. Keep your eye on where you want to go, keep going, with all of your passion and love and skill, and it will happen. I love being mentor to other dancers, because I know the difference it makes. It’s so simple to reach out and help somebody and to lend support. Those little things can change someone’s life.
Who are your dance heroes?
Hands down, Gregory Hines and Debbie Allen. It’s funny, they did a dance together back in the day. Gregory Hines made tap cool. He brought it to a contemporary time, with contemporary music. It reached young people and made us want to tap. He also impacted Hollywood.
He said: Hello! Tap is now. Tap is cool. Tap is an art form.
Tap has always been predominantly male-dominated. Debbie Allen taught me to stand strong in being woman, and not to be afraid to embrace my femininity. For a long time I would dance like a boy, and I wanted to prove myself and show my chops, and roll with the fellas. She told me: “Be yourself and who you are.”
What’s something you learned early on about technique that made you a better dancer?
Ted Louis Levy taught me the importance of clarity. He taught me about not needing to show off all your fancy steps at once, but rather, to tell a story, to have an arc. Know when to hold back. Know when to go all the way.
Dianne Walker told me: “Chloe, you gotta stay in your own bag.” Meaning, when you’re dancing with another dancer, don’t let their skills intimidate you. Let their skills inspire you. Don’t lose yourself trying to compete with others. Instead, stay true to yourself. And, powerful musicality can be just as impactful as that fancy step.
How did Syncopated Ladies Start?
One night in 2003, we were at the Debbie Allen Dance Academy in L.A. doing a jam session. It was just women at the jam, which was unique. I was in this circle with about five women, and I thought: Wow, this is so powerful, and so different. I want to start a group with these women.
We started performing together once or twice a year. The great thing about these ladies is that they were all also training in other styles of dance. So, when I started experimenting with putting style onto our dancing, they were able to do it. I didn’t have to compromise the challenge of the footwork.
The original ladies are still part of this family and team now. And that was thirteen years ago! I encourage them to cultivate their solo careers, so each of them are also working on their own things. Every woman in my company works solely as a tap dancer, and that makes me so happy.
How did Syncopated Ladies grow?
I’d been cultivating my solo career early on. I traveled to thirty countries, I was performing at Broadway Cares, and Jacob’s Pillow, and the Joyce. I did some performing on television. Now that I had this base, I wanted to expand. I thought: it’s time to invest in Syncopated Ladies.
A friend of mine from college, Melina Matsoukas, was directing and making strides as a female music video director, and she would bring me on as a freelance assistant. I was learning from her how to make music videos. So this was all helping me build my foundation. I said to the ladies: “I’m ready to rock out. I think it’s time.”
So, I scheduled our first video.
The popularity of it took us by surprise. We didn’t know what would come of it. I always tell dancers and students: you don’t create videos to go viral. You create work that is a reflection of your spirit, your heart, and your inspiration. You create your best possible work, and you share it in that moment. Whether or not it goes viral is irrelevant. The more you create, the more you hone your voice, and it increases your chances of it becoming viral. But you don’t create something with the intent of that happening. You create it because you love it.
What was Beyonce’s impact on the group?
When Beyonce shared our video in 2014, it went viral immediately. She shared it on Facebook, and I was watching the numbers jump by 100,000s. I was at Broadway Dance Center in New York when it happened, and when I saw it, I screamed. Everyone started screaming, and we had a little party.
From that, “So You Think You Can Dance” took notice of us, and they put us on the show in their first, and only, series of crew battles. We won the battle, and we were trending worldwide on Twitter, which got our name out into the world. Winning allowed us to put on our own concert. We had a sold out show in New York, and we went to D.C. and Dubai.
I have this appreciation, love, and respect for Beyonce, because she doesn’t have to help anybody. But she uses her platform to uplift other women. It’s a great example for artists to see that we can all shine, and that we’re stronger together.
How did your video for Beyonce’s “Formation” come about?
When Beyonce came out with “Formation,” I knew immediately: Syncopated Ladies, we gotta get in formation!
I was in L.A., and I wrote a text message to bunch of women in L.A. who tap dance. I said: Hey ladies, I’m having a free class tomorrow night. If you’re free, I’d love you to come.
A lot of people came, and I taught them the dance. I said, I want to do this dance and teach it to you, and for women around the world to do it too. I took the video, and I put it in a dropbox and sent it around the world — Rio, D.C., New York, Seattle, Taiwan. I said I needed it back by the end of the week. Everybody got their stuff back to me. And that really is the point of Beyonce’s “Formation”: Getting us together, getting us active, getting us mobilized — working towards a mission and purpose together.
So, we cut it all together. It was a great way to let people know that tap is alive around the world.
How has social media helped with the group’s success, and how can other dancers best utilize it too?
It’s all about how you choose to use this powerful tool. I always say to people: If we go to your social media page right now — what are we gonna see? Are you putting out into the universe how you see the world, what you want in your life, and is it a reflection of who you are? Or, is it all selfies?
My social media reflects me as an artist and what I’m working on. Now, with technology, we can get support beyond our field and beyond the dance audiences, too.
These platforms transcend socio-economic background as well. It used to be it was expensive to make a video. Now, if you can just get an iPhone, you can shoot something.
What is your long-term vision for Syncopated Ladies?
My vision for Syncopated Ladies is to have a franchised live show that tours, and stays in certain cities, and I’d be able to have multiple casts, and be able to hire women. And to have it be a dream and a goal for people, like, “Yeah, I wanna be in this show!”
I’d also like to have that parallel a television show. I want to create work for women in tap.
How do you think Syncopated Ladies is changing the tap landscape?
The greatest impact is in letting people know that tap is now. With us getting tap out there, it means that whenever any of us have a show or there’s a class one of us is doing, it may move someone to check it out who wouldn’t do that before. We’re getting more visibility for tap.
What upcoming projects are you guys working on?
On July 26 we’re performing at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. We’re also developing our concert, and we have our Syncopated Ladies Bootcamp in L.A. at the end of July, and one in New York City in November. Syncladies.com is our website where you can learn more about it. We’re also on Twitter and Instagram: @syncladies.
Where can people take classes with you?
I typically only teach master classes and workshops. I’m on faculty at New York City Dance Alliance, so that’s where you’ll find me most often. In L.A., I do maybe a monthly open class. In New York, I do spot classes. You can learn about those classes on my social media, @chloearnold on Twitter, or on my mailing list on my website, chloearnold.com.
What advice would you give to aspiring dancers?
My advice would be to think outside of the box. Instead of seeing your life as a box, I like to look at it like a circle — you get out of life what you put into it, and it comes back in life like a circle. If you put in that hard work and passion behind your dream, if you study your art form, and look into the future and envision how can you share your gift with other people and contribute, and don’t give up — you will succeed. Also, seek out those mentors that can guide you along the way.
