BALDWIN HILLS, Calif. – Every rehearsal starts the same, Chloe Arnold laces up her tap shoes then catches up with the Syncopated Ladies.

"The thing about dance, is it's a vibe. So for me, if we come in and it's like we have to work right now we have to set the right vibe," said Arnold.

Arnold and the Syncopated Ladies are rehearsing for the inaugural Los Angeles International Dance Festival. The 16-day dance experience in April was founded by Emmy award winner Debbie Allen and Nigel Lythgoe.

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It is a fitting partnership since Debbie Allen discovered Arnold when she was young.

"At 16 years old I got to be in her play Brothers of the Night at The Kennedy Center," said Arnold.

While dancing in New York City she noticed the shows she wanted to be in were either all-male or the women would only be tapping in the chorus. So when she moved to L.A. to work with Debbie Allen as her managing producer she gave Arnold some advice.

"Stop trying to fit into the box and create your own world," said Arnold.

Arnold, along with her sister Maud, create an all-female tap group born out of a need to see women represented in tap.   

"Syncopated Ladies was really a response to the idea that we no longer wanted our ideas and how we presented ourselves to be greenlit by the lens of a man," said Arnold.

Since they formed in 2003, the Syncopated Ladies have been carving out their own place in the industry. Their online content has reached over 50-million views catching the attention of artists like Beyoncé, which has created an abundance of work, like flying to London to perform for Queen Bey’s Ivy Park Active-Wear Lunch.  

"It was a moment of sheer gratitude and the outcome of what happens when you walk in faith and act with true purpose," said Arnold.

But their style of tap dance and their message of empowerment has faced resistance and bullying from some in the tap industry.

"What we've realized is that we were shifting the power structure, and that disrupts the status quo and it makes people feel uneasy," said Arnold.

But that has never deterred the Syncopated Ladies and this shift has allowed them to create their own work and create opportunities for others.

"It's everything I could've ever dreamed of come to life,” said Arnold.

So as Debbie Allen lifted up Arnold to step out of the box and create her own world, Arnold is living proof of how this world that she created is lifting up the next generation of female tappers.