About BODY SWELLS

Soleil Chappelle (they/them) is a transdisciplinary dancer, philosopher, and bodyworker located in Bellingham, WA. Body Swells is Soleil's craniosacral and massage therapy private practice. Their work is interwoven by a curiosity for felt-sense, bodily experience as primary to how we perceive and engage with the world. 

Soleil teaches contemporary modern dance at Whatcom Community College and for the community through Bellingham Repertory Dance (BRD).  Soleil performs with BRD and has been a collective member since 2019. Their classes explore contemporary technique, improvisation, floorwork, somatic movement, and movement for wellness. 

Originally from Seattle, Soleil grew up dancing at The Creative Dance Center. They received a BFA in Performance from Naropa University in 2011 and an MA in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness from California Institute of Integral Studies in 2016. 

Soleil trained in massage, craniosacral therapy, lymph drainage, acupressure, and shiatsu at McKinnon Body Therapy Center in Oakland, CA, and has been practicing since 2017. They are currently furthering their study of craniosacral therapy at Bastyr in Seattle.

Body Swells is the conceptual connective tissue between Soleil's offerings in bodywork, dance, and philosophy. A swell experienced in the body could be the tides of cerebral spinal fluid, as sensed in craniosacral therapy. Or a swell could be the sensation of inspiration when words meet lived experience, as they do in phenomenology. And a swell can be the mysterious source and pathway of a dance. Body Swells are infinite iridescences resonating with the polyphonic currents of all that surrounds and moves through us.

Photo by Bonnie Smerdon