Bright yellow promotional graphic for OFA Dance Open Studios featuring instructor Ella Wechsler-Mattafel’s Soca Fusion class. Five dancers pose energetically on the right side of the image in colorful clothing. Magenta text reads: “OFA Dance Open Studios with Ella Wechsler-Mattafel — Soca Fusion.” Class details at the bottom read: “Fridays, 10/2 and 10/30, 6:30–8 PM, Harvard Dance Center.” The Office for the Arts at Harvard Dance Program and Soca Fusion logos appear along the bottom.

OFA Dance Open Studios: Ella Wechsler-Matthaei/Soca Fusion

Presented by Harvard OFA Dance Program
WHERE
Harvard Dance Center 66 Garden Street , Cambridge
WHEN
October 2 2026 — 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
October 30 2026 — 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
COST
Free

You’re invited to witness and engage in an open rehearsal for a new evening‑length dance work by choreographer Ella Wechsler-Matthaei and her dance company Soca Fusion.

This Open Studio will include artist-prompted feedback and Q&A. Free and open to the public!

Rooted in Soca, Caribbean, and Carnival traditions, see the development of this new work which celebrates joy, resilience, and embodied expression within the Black diaspora. The work traces a journey from everyday life to the liberation of Carnival, blending Soca, Caribbean folklore, West African, hip hop, dancehall, and Afrobeats movement vocabularies. 

The OFA Dance Program hosts and supports professional dance artists at various stages of their creative process. Open Studios are an invitation for students and community members to be in the room during open rehearsals, sharings of works-in-process, and research sessions. It’s an opportunity to both participate in and witness the creative process, while learning more about current dancemakers.

About Soca Fusion

Through performance and community workshops, Soca Fusion is a Boston-based dance organization that centers Black embodied knowledge, invites multi‑generational engagement, and expands the national dance landscape by elevating dance forms historically under‑represented in U.S. concert contexts.

About Ella Wechsler-Matthaei

Ella Wechsler-Matthaei has trained under acclaimed dance educators such as Martha Gray, Mariana Harkless, Judy Dworin, Lesley Farlow, Marsha Parrilla, and Nailah Randall-Bellinger, to name a few.

In the spring of 2013, Wechsler-Matthaei studied in Trinidad and Tobago, where she trained with the Marcia Charles Dance Theatre Company. She continues to return to Trinidad for Carnival seasons and from 2015-2026, performed for a range of artists including Benjai, Voice, 5Star Akil, Olatunji, Lyrikal, Machel Montano, Patrice Roberts, and Kes. Her work led to international touring with Patrice Roberts and performances with Voice at festivals and events across the Caribbean and beyond.

Wechsler-Matthaei founded Soca Fusion, a company rooted in Soca dance and Caribbean cultural expression that expands access to culturally affirming dance through community classes, workshops, performances, and wellness-centered programming. Soca Fusion supports participants reconnecting with their bodies while celebrating the richness of Soca and Caribbean culture and traditions.

As an educator, Wechsler-Matthaei is deeply passionate about uplifting youth through the performing arts. She teaches Hip Hop, Soca, West African, Modern, and other Afro-diasporic dance forms, bringing joy, cultural connection, and confidence to students of all ages. She currently teaches at The Cambridge School of Weston and the Office for the Arts at Harvard (OFA) Dance Program, in addition to teaching within Cambridge and Boston schools and community programs. She strives to help young people develop confidence, discipline, and a strong sense of self through movement so they can continue to explore and nurture their passions throughout their lives.

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