Iraq War veteran Roman Baca co-founded Exit12 dance company to help tell the stories he believed needed to be told. Now, Exit12 is helping other veterans find a path to healing through movement and expression. Produced as part of Square’s “For Every Dream” series.
Kiva 2021
Exit12's KIVA was built through workshops in Albuquerque and Silver City, working with veterans, their families, and people from New Mexico's pueblos - many of whom have family members who served. Taking inspiration directly from the workshop participants, KIVA is the journey of a community through conflict, emergence, youth, spirit, and blessing. Music is by Native New Mexican and proud member of the Navajo Nation, Andrew Thomas, a contemporary, self-taught flute player.
Choreography: Exit12 Artists and NM Workshop Participants
Music: Andrew Thomas
Dancers: Jarred Bosch, Adrienne de la Fuente, Lisa Fitzgerald, Ellen Mihalick, Danielle Rutherford, Sean Scantlebury
Videographer: Jacob Hiss
Made possible through support from NM Arts Art and the Military, The Daddy Appleseed Fund, Keshet Dance, The Native Health Initiative, and Exit12
War Leaves Pieces 2020
Byrdcliffe Theatre, Woodstock, Ny
A look at the effects of war on emotional and personal relationships.
Choreography and Music: Román Baca in collaboration with the dancers and veterans.
Dancers: Lisa Fitzgerald, Adrienne de la Fuente, Taylor Gordon, Danielle Rutherford, Sean Scantlebury
Collaborators/Readers: Everett Cox, Omar Columbus, Jenny Pacanowski
Videographer: Leighann Kowalsky
Production and Lighting: Zack Jacobs
Sometimes, Silence
Hylton Performing Arts Center, November 2016
An autobiographical ballet of an army mother, Angela Scimonelli, whose two sons deploy to Afghanistan.
Choreography: Angela Scimonelli
Music composed and arranged by: Paul Scimonelli
Dancers: Adrienne de la Fuente, Andrew Harper, Lisa Fitzgerald, Paige Grimard, Sean Scantlebury
EXIT12 FULL PERFORMANCE
STANFORD UNIVERSITY
Honoring the Ghosts is a dance and poetry performance that explores the trauma of war and the subsequent healing that is possible through the arts. Stanford's Dr. Alex Nemerov reads Walt Whitman's Civil War poetry and Roman Baca leads his dance company, Exit 12 in a moving performance held in Stanford's Dinklespiel Auditorium.
EXIT12 FULL PERFORMANCE
Montgomery College's Frank Islam Athenaeum Symposia
Montgomery College's Frank Islam Athenaeum Symposia series welcomes the Exit 12 Dance Company under the artistic direction of its co-founder Roman Baca. A former marine, his choreography is filled with military metaphors that evoke meaningful dialogue.
Agressed/this is war
collaboration with Warrior writers, nyc
Ray Medina, Michael Day, and Roman Baca collaborate to combine poetry, music, and movement, during a Memorial Day Tribute in NYC. Dancers; Adrienne Cousineau, Meaghan Doherty
homecoming
intrepid air, sea, and space museum, nyc
The New York Times: Exit 12 Dance Company (Saturday) In honor of Fleet Week, the troupe performs “Homecoming” on the Intrepid flight deck. A veteran of the Iraq War, Roman Baca served as a Marine in Falluja, and his company’s repertory emphasizes wartime experiences. “Homecoming,” an unusual union of dance and topicality, depicts scenarios in which people who have seen their loved ones go off to battle and have either embraced them on their return or mourned their loss.