FLASHBACK - Román Baca

November 1, 2021: Episode 7 of the Savage Wonder podcast

Note: It’s the holidays, so we’re doing something a little different. For the week between Christmas and New Years, we wanted to flashback and share some of our podcasts from 2021, that, to be perfectly honest, didn’t get as many listens as we believe they deserved. We’re not super bothered about it, we have pretty thick skin. But at this time of year, we wanted to make sure we shined a light on some truly exceptional veteran artists to make sure they’re getting as much attention as we can give them. Enjoy and happy holidays!

Román Baca is a classically trained ballet dancer and choreographer. In 2001 enlisted in the United States Marine Corps, serving as a machine-gunner and fire-team leader in Fallujah, Iraq. After the war, Mr. Baca returned to dance and co-founded Exit12 Dance Company, which tells veterans’ stories choreographically. He is a graduate of St. Mary’s College of California (BA Cum Laude Performing Arts) and was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, UK where he completed his MFA with Merit in choreography. He provided production support to the critically acclaimed play Soldier On’s UK tour including a six-week run on the West End. He was a panelist reviewing US-UK Fulbright candidates, and has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts Dance Panel 2020. He is a PhD Candidate investigating the military human through the arts at York St. John University in the UK, an Early Career Researcher at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire, a Junior Research Scientist with the USAF/USN Research Unit. Román is a 2018 HillVet Nominee, a 2015 New York State Veterans’ Hall of Fame Inductee, an 2014 Art and Healing Network Awardee, and has served as a fellow with Veterans in Global Leadership, The Mission Continues, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Listen to our conversation here.