Black Metal Yoga with Circus Instructor Cupcake

Anyone who’s lived in a suburb or city for any period of their life would be lying if they claimed to have never heard of yoga before. The athletic phenomenon has been impossible to ignore for what feels like hundreds of years and has ingrained itself so deeply into American culture that signs of its presence show up everywhere from fashion to philosophy. Despite the overwhelming mainstream appeal of this ancient juxtaposition of meditation and physical fitness, a disenfranchised group that meets once a month at 666 S. State Street makes it clear that yoga isn’t a pastime exclusive to yuppies and those who could be labeled by society as “normal.” Black Metal Yoga at The Beehive, led by multi-talented circus instructor Cupcake, is a fresh spin on traditional yoga that incorporates low red lighting, candles, incense and (you guessed it) black metal into a yoga class setting. I was lucky enough to have a chance to chat with Cupcake the other day and ask a couple questions. Her answers certainly shed a little light onto the shadowy and obscure realm of black metal yoga.

SLUG: How did you initially get into teaching yoga and how long have you been teaching it for?

Cupcake: I actually didn’t teach yoga until after I became a circus instructor and performer. I started doing circus stuff around ten years ago and started teaching it about 5 years ago. Teaching yoga kind of came naturally with the circus related stuff and I used to do it on my own a lot. It eventually morphed into this like, “Oh, I can teach yoga now!” kind of thing. It’s also a nice halfway point between the intensity of circus contortion and just connecting your mind and body for a little while, it makes fitness more inclusive and that’s a big thing for me as a teacher. Also, I don’t wanna digress but before my circus gigs I used to belly dance, that’s kind of where my roots come from in terms of “noodling your body about.”

SLUG: I feel as if the respective ideas of yoga and metal might clash a bit, but it seems to work for you and your pupils. How does one of your sessions differ from that of a traditional yoga class in terms of class structure and expected outcomes?

Cupcake: I try to make it a little less about being “enlightened” because I feel as if people have assigned an incorrect definition of what that truly is like, your typical white yuppie who thinks they’re a “guru” for doing yoga or whatever. There’s a lot of that going on in the world and I’m just trying to show people that you don’t have to be that way or cater to a cheesy narrative to be into yoga. I’m fully aware and respectful of yoga and where it comes from, but it doesn’t need to be a religious thing. It’s all about silencing the chaos around you and within you. I think its important to introduce yoga to alternative communities because people who are into metal don’t usually gravitate towards a traditional yoga class and I want to give them a place where they can enjoy the benefits of yoga while feeling accepted and comfortable. I wanna give [alternative communities] the tools they need to deal with anxiety and stress. I also keep the lights dark in there so that you’re not worrying about what other people are looking at. A lot of people find it hard to put themselves in unfamiliar positions while around other people, so lowering the lights makes it a lot more comfortable for them to focus on themselves without worrying about being judged. My main goal is to bridge the gap between traditional yoga and my classes and make it way more accessible to people who find traditional yoga a little intimidating or price intensive. I’ve had a good amount of people come up and tell me that they’ve never felt more comfortable doing yoga than when they did it in my class and that makes me really happy.

SLUG: How did you think of the idea to juxtapose the calming art of yoga with black metal? Furthermore, is black metal a comparable substitute to the infamous whale sounds or whatever else is usually played in yoga studios?

Erica: I can’t take sole credit for the idea. I remember in 2020 I did a Zoom yoga class … I wish I could remember who led it, but it was a black metal yoga class. I thought, “I love yoga and I love black metal.” so that piqued my curiosity. Since then I’ve had the idea in the back of my mind but I’d never known what to do about it or where I could do it, there’s not really anywhere where you can just go to and they have black metal yoga haha. Thankfully, the studio I teach at in Centerville is owned by a couple that loves heavier music so I can get away with a little more in my playlists than I could elsewhere, but I won’t necessarily play black metal there. It hit me around the beginning of this year that I could teach it here at Beehive because we’ve wanted to incorporate more community events. Speaking of, my partner Andrew teaches a class here called Drawing with the Devil on the last Sunday of the month. That’s also an awesome experience where he incorporates black metal. 

I know that black metal is super different from what you’d hear in a traditional yoga studio, but it has so many beautiful aspects to it. I personally will listen to metal and people around me will be like, “why do you listen to metal?” and I’ll be like, “Do you hear the guitar? The drums? It’s fucking pretty.” There are pretty parts of that music that translate nicely into a yoga setting. 

SLUG: How often do you hold black metal yoga sessions? Do you hope to eventually hold them more often?

Cupcake: Just once a month, I could definitely be convinced to add more if people wanted me to do one on Saturday for the people who can’t make it on Sunday. I’m toying with the idea of doing every other Saturday on top of the monthly Sunday session, as long as attendance keeps up. I’d love to do it at other venues if I can get more people involved.

SLUG: What is your grand plan in terms of expanding your operation? Do you hope to grow your idea into a more well known practice or keep it more low-key?

Cupcake: There’s never really been a “grand plan” with this specifically. This whole thing is technically part of my business where I go under the name “Cupcake” (my persona) and do all of my stuff from circus things to burlesque dancing. That’s the entertainment side of my business, the other is called Bleached and Bewitched (which falls under the Cupcake persona) where I will bleach dye clothes and customize them with all kinds of cool stuff, along with making spooky shaped bath bombs and custom polaroid frames. I don’t really have a goal as far as the future of black metal yoga, I just want to keep the arts thriving in the community.

SLUG: What impact do you hope that these events have on the community? What kind of lasting effect, if any, do you hope to leave on the community? In other words, what is your mission statement?

Cupcake: Making the community as a whole more inclusive and comfortable for people who struggle to find refuge in other areas. I also wanna remind people that it’s good to take care of yourself no matter how that looks. Make it work for you.

SLUG: What kind of attire would one wear to Black metal yoga? Is it more of a corpse paint/spikes affair or yoga pants and training shoes?

Cupcake: I always encourage people to wear whatever based on the weather. I have super cute friends who come in wearing athletic wear and then I have the metal kids come in wearing their metal t-shirts with long pants. I have and will always encourage people to come in something that makes them feel like themselves. Next month we’ve talked about doing corpse paint so if we’re all still feeling that we will absolutely be doing it. 

SLUG: Aside from the music, what kind of atmospheric elements differ from that of a traditional yoga studio? Lights? Incenses?

Cupcake: I go heavy on the red lighting, candles, incense—we buy local incense at Cat and Cauldron in Taylorsville. I try to use as much locally sourced stuff as I can when I’m putting together my supplies. I also encourage people to bring coffee or whatever other drinks they’d need. No booze though.

SLUG: How can one participate in a session? Is there an online sign-up or something of that nature?

Cupcake: You can just show up whenever we are scheduled. I charge 7-10$, sliding scale price depending on what you can do. I split all proceeds with AAMP (Alternative Arts and Music Program) who runs The Beehive. 

SLUG: What black metal artists do you tend to feature regularly or is it a revolving door of groups?

Cupcake: It’s definitely a revolving door. I have some that I like some more than others. Exiled from Light is my favorite at the moment (check out We Writhe as Worms). When I’m putting together my playlists I like to make sure that songs I pick have a lot of melodic parts, stuff that’s got a symphonic sound to it. Also stuff that has, like, a romantic vibe to it. It’s gotta have a build and then slow down and then maybe a little bit more of a build after that. I love incorporating stuff with a good double bass too. I sequence the songs in the playlist to go along with the flow of the session. I’ll have a mellow song in the beginning where we start by just breathing. That first song will be very slow and pretty and as the session goes on the music will build into more intense stuff and then, towards the end of the session, start to wind down as we sit in “corpse pose” before we finish up! Also, I’d like to stress how important the use of ethical artist’s music is to me. There’s a lot of scummy musicians, especially in this genre, and I do all the research I can to make sure I don’t use any of their stuff in my classes.

Be sure to keep an eye out for the next Black Metal Yoga, Drawing with the Devil (drawing instruction and live figure modeling), Lords of Misrule (an improv group), concerts and other local phenomena on The Beehive’s Instagram @beehiveslc.

Read more about what’s happening in SLC:
The Connect to Your Wild Side With Inner Peas Goat Yoga
Molly’s Gemini Room: Redefining Salt Lake’s Nightlife