Creative cross-pollination with Philly DJ, dancer, and aerial artist Electric Honey

Kat Bancer has possessed a lifelong passion for movement and self-expression. It’s led the Philly artist who performs as Electric Honey to carve out a unique path, seamlessly blending the worlds of DJing, dance, and aerial performance.

From a young age, Kat’s love for the arts was evident. She began as a gymnast, transitioning to dance during her high school years as a way to build confidence. While gymnastics allowed her to develop impressive acrobatic skills, the intense training took a toll, leading to frequent injuries. Once it stopped being fun, she made the transition to dance, which helped her come out of her shell and build confidence throughout high school. Little did she know, this early exploration would lay the foundation for a career that would defy conventional boundaries

Electric Honey’s path wasn’t always smooth sailing. After being accepted to a performing arts school following high school, she suffered a hip injury that required surgery and an extended recovery period of six months. “It was like, oh wow,” she reflects. “It was a small surgery in theory, because they have to use tiny instruments to go in and repair your hip. But the recovery is really long. You kind of have to learn how to walk again in a sense.”

The injury forced her to take a hiatus from dancing, which was difficult.  “Dance was my life,” she explains. “That’s who I am as a person. That’s how everyone knew me.” Having that core part of her identity taken away was a challenging mental hurdle. However, she remained determined, “I’m gonna come back stronger.”

Electric Honey | photo by Melissa Simpson for WXPN

During this time, Electric Honey worked at Lululemon, where she discovered yoga and meditation. The company’s training programs encouraged exploring one’s purpose through vision exercises. “We talked a lot about, you know, what is your purpose in this life? Like, why are you here?” she recalls. Through meditation and self-reflection, she realized, “My purpose is to inspire others through music and movement.”

Yoga provided grounding during her recovery. “It doesn’t really matter what you look like, it just kind of matters how it feels,” she learned. This was a stark contrast from her dance and gymnastics background, where appearance was prioritized. Lululemon proved instrumental in Electric Honey’s journey, allowing her to heal, find her purpose, and lay the foundations for her current career.

Electric Honey’s journey into DJing began through an ex-boyfriend who was a DJ himself. Drawn to the music he played, she was intrigued by the art of mixing and blending different tracks. With some encouragement from him, she decided to try DJing herself. Her first gigs were underground hip-hop parties and events where she would play a mix of hip-hop and trap music. It was during this period that people started referring to her as “Young Cat” – a playful nickname that stuck with her for a while. She started with hip-hop and underground parties, mixing in house music she loved but assumed others didn’t appreciate. Over time, her tastes evolved to embrace a wide range of electronic dance music – house, techno, dubstep, and more.

When it came to choosing her professional DJ name, Electric Honey admitted that it didn’t come easily at first. The name “Electric Honey” came to her during a meditation session, and she felt it perfectly captured her personality and the energy she wanted to convey.

At her Thursday residency at Fabrika, Electric Honey crafts a European club vibe spinning house and techno tracks. But she’s also adept at reading crowds, seamlessly blending pop hits and throwbacks when the dancefloor calls for familiar anthems. Inspired by artists like Alison Wonderland, who merge disparate genres, Electric Honey’s sound defies easy categorization. Her DJ sets are a sonic journey, transitioning from hard-hitting trap and dubstep to groovy house and techno rhythms. This musical fluidity reflects her multidimensional artistry as both a DJ and an aerial performer.

Electric Honey | photo by Melissa Simpson for WXPN

After recovering from hip surgery, Electric Honey found herself drawn back to the aerial arts she had admired since childhood. Having put her dance dreams on hold due to injuries, she was determined to pursue her lifelong passion for the circus arts.

The first step was finding a place to train. She discovered the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts and scheduled a private lesson, her first taste of aerial in years. Stepping into the studio, she was immediately entranced by the lyra (aerial hoop) and silks rigging. With her background in gymnastics and dance, the aerial disciplines came naturally. Under the guidance of skilled instructors, Electric Honey diligently relearned aerial basics and technique.

Over the years, Electric Honey has honed her lyra skills, continually pushing herself to new heights. One of her most breathtaking acts involves combining her aerial artistry with the ancient art of fire performance. Adorned in flowing costume with flames dancing around her, she executes stunning tricks and poses on the lyra, creating a mesmerizing display of beauty and power.

Electric Honey | photo by Melissa Simpson for WXPN

For a while, Electric Honey was hesitant to fully embrace her dual passions of DJing and aerial arts. The common advice is to focus on one thing and master it. However, the two arts started blending together naturally. Festivals became the perfect environment for her to shine as both a DJ and aerialist, DJing one set and then dancing or performing aerials during another artist’s set.

Electric Honey’s festival aspirations are closely tied to her dual passions for DJing and aerial performance. Her ultimate dream is to grace the stages of Elements, a transformative music and arts gathering nestled in the picturesque Poconos region. Having already established a cherished annual tradition of DJing and camping with her Solar Sounds collective at Elements, she now yearns to elevate her presence by securing a coveted spot on the festival’s main stages, both as a DJ and as an aerialist.

“I would love to get inside of Elements and actually play the festival,” she shares with palpable enthusiasm. “I also really want to perform at the festival too as an aerialist.”

Closer to home, Electric Honey has her sights set on local events like Big Dub, where she hopes to captivate audiences with her unique brand of artistry. While the allure of renowned festivals like EDC (Electric Daisy Carnival) and Electric Forest holds undeniable appeal, she remains grounded in her appreciation for the intimate, community-driven experiences that have nurtured her creative journey thus far.

“I’ll take going as a performer, I’ll take going as a DJ,” she affirms. “I just love being around that environment, so either way I can get there.”

Electric Honey | photo by Melissa Simpson for WXPN

Electric Honey’s life is a whirlwind of artistic pursuits and professional responsibilities. Maintaining balance across her DJ gigs, aerial performances, and day job as a leasing agent requires strategic time management. Her secret weapon? A diligently updated Google Calendar.

“Honestly, the Google calendar’s just been really helpful for me,” she shares. By carefully blocking out her schedule, she can maximize productivity while ensuring adequate rest. Her job offers some flexibility, allowing her to occasionally work Saturdays and take Fridays off for aerial practice at Fabrica.

Scheduling downtime is equally crucial. “I’m trying to get better at scheduling in time for rest,” she admits. “I will just fill out my Google calendar to where it’s just like packed, and I’m like, ‘Oh, this is great. It kind of looks like a puzzle.’ But then I’m just exhausted. I don’t have any time to rest.”

It’s a delicate dance, but one she’s mastering with grace, fueled by her multitude of passions and an unwavering commitment to pursuing them all.

Electric Honey’s current multifaceted career as a DJ, aerialist, and performer would undoubtedly make her younger self beam with pride. From a young age, she harbored dreams of running away with the circus and pursued gymnastics and dance with fervent passion. Even when injuries temporarily derailed her dance ambitions, she persevered, always seeking out new creative outlets that brought her joy.

Today, Electric Honey embodies the very essence of her childhood aspirations. She commands stages as a skilled DJ, spinning infectious beats that unite crowds in euphoric dance. Simultaneously, she mesmerizes audiences with her aerial artistry, gracefully contorting and spinning on the Lyra with a captivating presence reminiscent of the circus performers she idolized. Her present-day success as a multidimensional performer serves as a powerful testament to the rewards of perseverance, adaptability, and a relentless pursuit of one’s passions.

“Just doing something that lights your soul up is really important,” she shares. “So I would encourage others to, whatever that is, if they don’t know what it is, find it, and pursue that.”

Electric Honey DJs at her regular Honey Pot party this Friday, July 12th, at Franky Bradley’s; tickets and information here. She also appears at Warehouse On Watts on August 17th for the Bass Chaos party; tickets and information on that event here. For more, follow her on Instagram at @electricxhoney.