Maude (left) and Chloe Arnold make up the Syncopated Ladies. (Courtesy photo)
Chloe Arnold and Maud Arnold are two sisters who’ve embraced their talents in tap dancing at a young age growing up in Northwest, Washington, D.C. Now the two have taken the tap dancing industry by storm by building their own film/production company and are inspiring young entrepreneurs who have the same passion for tap dance as they do.
You may have recognized these ladies and their dancing team, Syncopated Ladies, a tap dancing group that won on FOX’s dancing competition, “So You Think You Can Dance” in 2014. Their choreographed routines to mainstream pop music caught the eye of R&B superstar Beyoncé. After Beyoncé put the video of the group dancing to her hit song “Formation” on her web site, the video hit over six million viewers. This changed the sister’s lives.
“We screamed, and called all of the ladies with sheer excitement, shock, and appreciation,” said Chloe in an interview with the {AFRO}. This was the second time Beyoncé gave a shout out to one of the sister’s video: the first was for a choreographed routine to her hit song “End of Time” back in 2013. “I screamed that time also. I am deeply thankful for all of the love she has given us. She has elevated our lives in true sisterhood fashion.”
Recently, the Syncopated Ladies got a chance to be a part of the opening launch in London for Beyoncé’s new athletic wear line, Ivy Park, a collaboration collection for the U.K. retailer, Topshop. The grand opening took place on April 14.
In addition to the sisters, who are founders of the Syncopated Ladies, the group is made up of three other members: Anissa Lee, Assata Madison and Orialis Ashley.
The Arnold sisters began tap dancing at a young age.
At the age of six, Chloe followed in her mother’s footsteps, and began dancing. While their mother was into modern dance, in dancing school Chloe learned tap, jazz and ballet. Her sister soon followed. The two were surrounded by talented dance artists such as Gregory Hines and actress/choreographer and Debbie Allen, who eventually served as their mentor during their teenage years.
Allen discovered Chloe at the age of 10, when she auditioned for “Brothers of The Knight,” a stage show put on by Debbie Allen, at The Kennedy Center in the late 90’s. Allen took both Chloe and Maud under her wing and back to her home in Los Angeles to work on their talents.
After attending Columbia University in New York, the sisters started a film and production company called, Chloe and Maud Productions. Their first film was a documentary called “Tap World.”
Not only do these ladies direct and produce short films their YouTube channel they also co-foundered DC Tap Festival, an annual event. “Maud and I decided that it was essential to invigorate our hometown, but bring a world class faculty and diverse student body to the city to celebrate the art from in classes and concert.”
The Arnold sisters just wrapped up their eighth annual DC Tap Festival in March. The week long festival took place at the Westin Hotel in downtown D.C., where young leaders and top tap professionals come together to be involved in workshops, learn the history of tap dance, participate in competitions and celebrate tap dancing.
In addition, the two sisters run The Chloe & Maud Foundation, which awards scholarships to up and coming tap dancers.
“People are starting to take notice again, that tap is cool and a cutting edge art form,” said Chloe.