In music, syncopation includes a variety of rhythms which are in some way unexpected which make an off-beat tune or piece of music. More simply, syncopation is a general term for a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm: a placement of rhythmic stresses or accents where they wouldn't normally occur.

Syncopation is used in many musical styles, and is fundamental in African-derived styles such as ragtime, jazz, jump blues, funk, reggae, rap, progressive electronic dance music, progressive rock, progressive metal, breakbeat, drum'n'bass, samba, baião, ska, and dubstep. "All dance music makes use of syncopation and it's often a vital element that helps tie the whole track together". In the form of a back beat, syncopation is used in virtually all contemporary popular music.

Syncopation has been an important element of musical composition since at least the Middle Ages. Bach and Handel used syncopated rhythms as an inherent part of their compositions; Haydn used it to create variety. Syncopation was used by Mozart, Beethoven, and Schubert, especially in their symphonies, for both purposes. This can be heard in Mozart's 38th and Beethoven's 7th. Syncopation is an essential part of the character of some musical styles, such as jazz and ragtime. Hungarian Csárdás song-dances are always syncopated. The "Scotch snap" of Scotland also feature syncopation.

Chloe Arnold is an American Dancer, Actress, Choreographer, Director, and Producer. She is best known internationally as a Tap dancer.

As founder of the DC Tap Festival and Co-Director of the L.A. Tap Festival for which she was awarded in 2003, A Certificate of Appreciation from the City of Los Angeles, Chloe Arnold began her professional career at age 10 in Savion Glover’s Washington, DC Crew performing at The Dance Place, The Kennedy Center in Savion Glover’s All Star Tap Revue (starring Gregory Hines, The Nicholas Brothers, and Jimmy Slyde), and in Frank Hatchet’s Broadway Showcase. At 16, she was cast in Debbie Allen’s production of Brother’s of the Knight at The Kennedy Center. She has continued to work with Debbie Allen for over a decade as a Performer, Choreographer, Director, and Producer (see credits).

On stage, Chloe is a co-star of Emmy Award winning Choreographer Jason Samuels Smith’s critically acclaimed Charlie’s Angels: A Tribute To Charlie Parker, Co-starred with Tachina Arnold and Robert Torti in Debbie Allen’s Alex in Wonderland at the Kennedy Center and Frued Playhouse, and performed in modern Tap musical Imagine Tap. She choreographed and starred in the 2008 live Television Opening Number of the Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon that raised $65 million dollars for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Chloe has guest starred and choreographed her appearances on Television shows like Nickelodeon’s The Brothers Garcia, Discovery Channel’s Time Warp, and the CW’s One on One and The Parkers. She was also the dance double for Beyonce in her music video "Upgrade You" and body double in "Diva". Making her film debuts, Chloe was in the HBO/Universal Pictures release of Outkast’s feature film Idlewild and Dean Hargrove’s award winning Tap Heat.

Leroy Anderson (June 29, 1908 – May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."

Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to Swedish parents, Anderson was given his first piano lessons by his mother, who was a church organist. He continued studying piano at the New England Conservatory of Music. In 1925 Anderson entered Harvard University, where he studied theory with Walter Spalding, counterpoint with Edward Ballantine, harmony with George Enescu, composition with Walter Piston and double bass with Gaston Dufresne.^{[citation needed]} He also studied organ with Henry Gideon. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1929 and Master of Arts in 1930.

Anderson continued studying at Harvard, working towards a PhD in German and Scandinavian languages. (Anderson spoke English and Swedish during his youth but he eventually became fluent in Danish, Norwegian, Icelandic, German, French, Italian, and Portuguese.) During this time he was also working as organist and choir director at the East Milton Congregational Church, leading the Harvard University Band, and conducting and arranging for dance bands around Boston. His arranging work came to the attention of Arthur Fiedler in 1936 and Anderson was asked to show Fiedler any original compositions. Anderson's first work was Jazz Pizzicato in 1938. Fiedler suggested that a companion piece be written and thus Anderson wrote Jazz Legato in 1938.

Arthur Fiedler (December 17, 1894 – July 10, 1979) was a long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country. Some people^[who?] criticized him for over-popularizing music, particularly when adapting popular songs or edited portions of the classical repertoire, but Fiedler kept performances informal and sometimes self-mocking to attract more customers.

Fiedler was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Emanuel and Johanna Fiedler. His father was a Polish-born violinist who played in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and his mother was a pianist and musician. He grew up in Boston, and attended Boston Latin School until his father retired (in the early 1900s), and they moved to Vienna, Austria, in 1910. The family soon moved again, to Berlin, where from 1911 to 1915 young Fiedler studied violin at the Royal Academy of Music (Hochschule für Musik Berlin) under Willy Hess. Fiedler returned to Boston at the beginning of World War I. In 1915 he joined the Boston Symphony Orchestra under Karl Muck as a violinist. He also worked as a pianist, organist, and percussionist.