Roman Baca
Roman Baca is a Marine Iraq War Veteran and the Artistic Director of Exit12 Dance Company in NYC and the Artistic Director and General Manager of Ballet Theatre Company in CT. Mr. Baca earned his BA in performing arts Cum Laude from the LEAP program through St. Mary’s College of CA.
In 2007, Mr. Baca co-founded Exit12 Dance Company. Mr. Baca has choreographed several major works relating to the military and their families and writes and lectures about his experiences. As a Teaching Artist, Mr. Baca has traveled to work in Erbil, Iraq and in NYC public schools teaching young adults how to express their experience through choreography and non-verbal expression. Mr. Baca has conducted Veteran/Civilian movement workshops that provide tools to aid veterans in the workplace, and to bridge the civilian-veteran divide.
Mr. Baca has worked as an advocate for the arts at the NY State Capitol in Albany, and was a featured panelist on Art and Healing in the Military at the Dirsken Senate Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Mr. Baca is a Leadership Fellow for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a 2014 Art and Healing Network Awardee, a recipient of a 2012 Fellowship from The Mission Continues, a 2009 producing and presenting grant from AjkunBT, a 2010 Access DanceUSA Scholarship from DanceNYC through support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Brian Tippen Memorial Scholarship, and the Connecticut Wartime Veterans Medal.
Mr. Baca’s priorities are defined by his desire to help veterans realize their potential in the civilian world and the impact they could make in their communities.