Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey and special guest, Román Baca In this episode of Dance Talk, host Joanne Carey chats with Román Baca, artistic director of Exit 12 Dance Company, who shares his unique journey from being a ballet dancer to serving in the United States Marine Corps and then returning to the world of dance. The conversation explores the intersection of dance and military experiences, the healing power of art for veterans, and the mission of Exit 12 to tell stories that challenge perceptions of military life. Román discusses the importance of community engagement and the transformative impact of dance on both performers and audiences and his continued commitment to helping veterans heal.  Thank you for you service. Semper Fidelis. He has choreographed dance works that explore the military veteran experience and the impact of war on civilians and families. He leads workshops and lectures to aid veterans’ recovery and inspire critical conversations about military service through the power of dance.  Mr. Baca graduated from St. Mary’s College of California with a BA, cum laude, in the Performing Arts and was awarded a Fulbright to the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, UK where he completed his MFA with Merit in Choreography.  Mr. Baca’s practice-based research produced his thesis titled Choreographing Soldier’s Stories to Provoke Empathy in Audiences winning major awards.  He has also served as a Junior Research Scientist and data manager for several military research studies. Mr. Baca has worked with the Soldiers’ Arts Academy C.I.C and also served on the leadership team that delivered the first UK Veterans Art Festival alongside the 2019 UK Invictus Trials in Sheffield, UK.  He has also served as a panelist reviewing awards for Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, US-UK Fulbright candidates, and has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts Dance Panel 2020. Mr. Baca is a 2024 Fellow with the George W. Bush Institute’s Stand-To Veteran Leadership Program and has served as a fellow with Veterans in Global Leadership, The Mission Continues, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. Román Baca is the Artistic Director of Exit12 Dance Company and a PhD Candidate investigating the military human through the arts at York St. John University in the UK.  Román Baca is also the Deputy Project Manager for Bravo 22, a Royal British Legion Funded Recovery Through the Arts Programme and the Project Manager for an arts and recovery pilot project with the Ministry of Defense.  Working through the arts with the military Mr. Baca has developed major partnerships and projects with world-class institutions including the Intrepid Museum, The British Museum, the Ministry of Defense, CreatiVets, The Metropolitan Museum of Art among others. Mr. Baca is a classically trained ballet dancer and choreographer. He has danced in the US for the New Mexico Ballet Company, Connecticut Ballet, the Nutmeg Ballet, Ballet Theatre Company. He has served as movement director for several off-Broadway plays and has taught ballet in London and NYC at Pineapple, Alvin Ailey, Peridance, City Academy, and the United Nations.  In 2001 he took a hiatus from dance and enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving as a machine-gunner and fire-team leader in Fallujah, Iraq during the US-led Iraq War. After the war, Mr. Baca returned to dance and co-founded Exit12 Dance Company, which tells war stories, choreographically, to increase cross-cultural understanding and heal divisions. Exit 12 Dance Company⁠https://exit12danceco.org/⁠ Follow “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey wherever you listen to your podcasts.  ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://dancetalkwithjoannecarey.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠ Tune in. Follow. Like us. And Share.  Please leave us review about our podcast!  “Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey  "Where the Dance World Connects, th