{"id":57711,"date":"2019-02-06T18:59:30","date_gmt":"2019-02-06T18:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/uncategorized\/2019\/02\/06\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T12:03:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T12:03:06","slug":"this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2019\/02\/06\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\/","title":{"rendered":"This Marine went from the ballet to the battlefield \u2014 and back again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">What do ballet slippers and combat boots have in common? Not much, if you ask most people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But for Rom\u00e1n Baca, the two go hand in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After leaving the Marine Corps, the Iraq veteran returned to his first career as a dancer \u2014 an unconventional trajectory either way you look at it. But he\u2019s found a way to meld the two worlds the way only someone who\u2019s lived both lives can do \u2014 by starting a dance company and choreographing ballets about war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhen I started this idea, it started as a way to investigate experiences that I had in Fallujah, in Iraq, as a Marine,\u201d Baca, 44, said in a recent interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since then, his company, Exit 12, has become a traveling nonprofit group that performs contemporary dances and runs therapeutic movement workshops for veterans across the country. Baca\u2019s unusual story is featured in a new film, \u201cExit 12: Moved by War,\u201d which was featured on Vimeo last month and has just been nominated to receive an award in the Documentary Shorts category at the 2019 SXSW film festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/o7hq91tXtPg\"\nframeborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\"\nallowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>From \u2018Sleeping Beauty\u2019 to the United States Marine Corps<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After studying dance at the University of New Mexico, Baca started dancing professionally on the East Coast. But sometime in between ballet performances of Tchaikovsky\u2019s \u201cSwan Lake\u201d and \u201cThe Sleeping Beauty,\u201d the then-20 something decided he wanted to do more with his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So Baca gave away all his dance gear and joined the Marine Corps, a career he felt epitomized his dream of a living a life of service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy rationale was that art was part of the kid that still lived inside of me, and I needed to grow up in some way,\u201d Baca said in a recent interview. \u201cI was convinced in Fallujah that I had hung up my ballet shoes forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But life has a funny way of not going as planned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When Baca came back from the war feeling detached from society and coping with the aggression he\u2019d picked up on the battlefield, he found healing after his wife encouraged him to go after an old dream of starting a dance company. He started Exit 12 on the famous Broadway street in New York City in 2007 and has been using the art form to tell stories of war since those early days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The first dance inspired by his experiences was \u201cHabibi Hhaloua,\u201d a ballet about his time in Fallujah, \u201cabout going through patrols, and about the things that go through your mind when you\u2019re walking through the desert with an M-16 in your hand,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another dance, featured in the film, reflects on a specific encounter Baca had while searching the car of a young Iraqi couple with a baby.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs I was approaching the door, I made the mistake of looking into her eyes,\u201d he said. \u201cSeeing the fear in her eyes and feeling the fear in her eyes, in that moment, there was suddenly that tug of war in my brain. Do I follow these rules of engagement that make me feel like a monster, or do I come from an empathetic response that comes from feeling that woman\u2019s fear?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>\u2018A wake-up call\u2019<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few years into Baca\u2019s new venture, tragedy struck when two Marine friends of his took their own lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was a wake-up call to say, OK, I know we\u2019re doing something through the performing arts, but I felt that we weren\u2019t doing enough,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-3-RESIZED.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99622\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-3-RESIZED.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-3-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-3-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-3-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The first Exit 12 Dance Company performance inspired by military experiences was \u201cHabibi Hhaloua,\u201d a ballet &#8220;about going through patrols, and about the things that go through your mind when you\u2019re walking through the desert with an M-16 in your hand,\u201d said the nonprofit&#8217;s founder, Rom\u00e1n Baca. (Square)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By the next year, Exit 12 had started incorporating dance workshops for veterans into its repertoire, hoping to use choreography to awaken veterans\u2019 imaginations and promote healing from painful memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt was pretty powerful,\u201d remembers Jenny Pacanowski, an Army veteran from Pennsylvania, who has attended Exit 12 workshops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pacanowski said she has severe PTSD from her time deployed as a convoy medic responding to medical emergencies on the front lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI\u2019ve done every therapy type that\u2019s on earth right now,\u201d she said. But what she really appreciates about Baca\u2019s approach is that it\u2019s not another version of sitting and talking about your experiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhat a lot of people don\u2019t realize is \u2026 your trauma lies in the your muscles and your body. And to create storytelling with body movement, combining those two, I think is part of the avenues of healing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One piece of the workshop that still stands out to her is when Baca told veterans to recall their military training for a set of violent action verbs \u2014 words like \u201chit\u201d, \u201ckick,\u201d and \u201csmash.\u201d He instructed them to act out those motions as they were taught during military training, then repeat them harnessing positive human emotions, such as peace and love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Initially, Pacanowski was \u201cpissed off\u201d at Baca for suggesting the exercise, she said. But somewhere along the way, it worked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI ended up doing it more in slow motion and just kind of being more gentle with it,\u201d she said. \u201cThere was no malicious intent anymore. It was just infused with my own love, my own feelings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><b>Bridging the military-civilian divide<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In all of Exit 12\u2019s workshops, veteran attendees are grouped with civilians and professional dancers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThey can kind of encourage each other\u2019s creativity and push each other\u2019s boundaries so that the dancers aren\u2019t just teaching veterans how to choreograph. They\u2019re getting ideas from the veterans &#8230; and together, everyone in the room is creating a dance,\u201d Baca said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Pacanowski, now a poet who runs local arts workshops of her own, said it\u2019s one way to bridge the military-civilian divide, especially when it comes to stigma surrounding PTSD and other issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe bridge it through dance, through communicating, storytelling,\u201d she said. \u201cWe do it through the arts because it can be seen, it can be heard, it can be felt.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">There\u2019s another thing Pacanowski wants people to remember, too \u2014 that the arts aren\u2019t \u201cfeminine or weak.\u201d Ancient cultures often incorporated dancing into warrior homecomings and celebrations, she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-2-RESIZED.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-99624\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-2-RESIZED.jpg.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-2-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?resize=300,157 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-2-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?resize=768,402 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Exit-12-2-RESIZED.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,536 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">In workshops across the country, Exit 12 Dance Company pairs veterans and civilians to create dances based on each others&#8217; ideas and experiences.  (Square)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Exit 12 has more performances and workshops on the horizon, even while Baca is temporarily out of the country pursuing a master\u2019s degree in fine arts from the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While there, he\u2019s researching the impact of military training and its lasting impacts on the mind and the body, in hopes of finding ways to loosen those connections through choreography somehow, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Eventually, Baca would like to take Exit 12 to the global stage, working with Australian and Georgian militaries, in particular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And among his dreams are to one day do a workshop in Iraq \u2014 this time going in peace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What do ballet slippers and combat boots have in common? Not much, if you ask most people. But for Marine Corps veteran Rom\u00e1n Baca, the two go hand in hand.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":99618,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":19,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[101,22,72,25,13,19],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3382],"class_list":["post-57711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-daily-news-roundup","category-disaster","category-military-culture","category-newsletters","category-off-duty","category-veterans"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"CDQ6UVZ6OBDR5D6PCZRXM2KWOM","arc_canonical_url":"\/vet-stars\/2019\/02\/06\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>This Marine went from the ballet to the battlefield \u2014 and back again - Marine Corps Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What do ballet slippers and combat boots have in common? Not much, if you ask most people. But for Marine Corps veteran Rom\u00e1n Baca, the two go hand in hand.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/veterans\/2019\/02\/06\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"This Marine went from the ballet to the battlefield \u2014 and back again\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What do ballet slippers and combat boots have in common? Not much, if you ask most people. But for Marine Corps veteran Rom\u00e1n Baca, the two go hand in hand.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/marinecorpstimes\/veterans\/2019\/02\/06\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marine Corps Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-02-06T18:59:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-08T12:03:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Natalie Gross\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Natalie Gross\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Article\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\\\/#article\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"author\": {\n\t                \"name\": \"migration\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/cc76c831bb37a926738c8391fca7a3b1\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"headline\": \"This Marine went from the ballet to the battlefield \u2014 and back again\",\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2019-02-06T18:59:30+00:00\",\n\t            \"dateModified\": \"2026-08-08T12:03:06+00:00\",\n\t            \"mainEntityOfPage\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\\\/\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"wordCount\": 1194,\n\t            \"commentCount\": 0,\n\t            \"publisher\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/#organization\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\\\/#primaryimage\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"thumbnailUrl\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/Exit-12-Rachel-Neville-6-RESIZED.jpg.jpg\",\n\t            \"articleSection\": [\n\t                \"Daily News Roundup\",\n\t                \"Disaster | Advertiser Safety\",\n\t                \"Military Culture\",\n\t                \"Newsletters\",\n\t                \"Off Duty\",\n\t                \"Veterans\"\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"CommentAction\",\n\t                    \"name\": \"Comment\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\\\/#respond\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\\\/\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/one.sightlinemg.com\\\/marinecorpstimes\\\/veterans\\\/2019\\\/02\\\/06\\\/this-marine-went-from-the-ballet-to-the-battlefield-and-back-again\\\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"This Marine went from the ballet to the battlefield \u2014 and back again - 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