presents
FRIDAY MAY 26TH, 2023 6:30PM
Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum
New York, NY
TRUTHS COLLIDING
Photo: Adrian Calvache
TRUTHSCOLLIDING
Thank you for attending Truths Colliding, Exit12's culminating performance after 8 weeks of workshops and rehearsals working with people impacted by war.
These past two months we have laughed, cried, created, and moved together sharing stories and space, joy and sorrow. Together we have created what you will experience tonight.
This project intends to make real through art the experiences and stories of war to provoke discussion with you, the audience.
We know that it is by the sharing of these stories through creative means, we heal. Further we believe that performances and dialogues like these must continue in order to keep hope, awareness, and support alive for our allies and friends left in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Ukraine.
Thank you,
ROMÁN Artistic Director and Co-Founder Dance Company
BACA
Exit12
Roman, Adrienne, and Jenny on the deck of the Intrepid Photo by Brendan Bannon/ Odyssey/Josephine Herrick Project
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PROGRAM ORDER
I'M NEW HERE Román Baca
ODYSSEY .............................................................................
Exit12 Dance Company Artists
Choreographed by: Andrew Harper
Music by: Terry Callier, Gil Scott Heron, and Jamie Woon
ANTIGONE INTRODUCTION .................................................................Peter Meineck
ANTIGONE (EXCERPT)
Readers: Nelly Savinon, Caleb Wells, John Meyer, Michael Castelblanco, Jenny Pacanowski, James Becton, Bridget Dolan
Dancers: Exit12 Dance Company Artists
Directed by Peter Meineck and Román Baca
REMEMBERING A WOMAN IN FALLUJAH ...............................................Román Baca
CONFLICTED
Jarred Bosch, Adrienne de la Fuente, Lisa Fitzgerald, Taylor Gordon
Choreographed by: Román Baca
Music by: Anja Lechner & Vassilis Tsabropoulos
A F*CKING DIALOGUE OF SELF AND SOUL ..........................Exit12 Company Artists and Workshop Participants
Choreographed by: Exit12 Company Artists and Workshop Participants
Soundscape: Román Baca
Poetry: Workshop Participants
101 (POEM) .............................................................................................................Everett Cox
FOR MY FATHER (EXCERPT)
...............................................Nick Cunha, Taylor Gordon, Román Baca
Choreographed by: Taylor Gordon
Music by: Jason Moon/Warrior Songs
BIRD OF WAR (POEM) .........................................................................Jenny Pacanowski
IF I CHANGE IT ................................................................................Exit12 Company Artists
Choreographed by: Román Baca
Music by: Creativets
PANEL DISCUSSION WITH AUDIENCE Led by Peter Meineck
WINE AND CHEESE RECEPTION
EXIT12 COMPANY ARTISTS
ROMÁN BACA
Artistic Director
Román Baca is a classically trained ballet dancer and choreographer In 2001, recognizing his desire to defend the defenseless, 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 Iraq War.
After the war, Mr. Baca returned to dance and co-founded Exit12 Dance Company.He has choreographed and championed dance works that explore the military veteran experience and the impact of war on civilians and families. He also leads workshops and lectures at schools, universities, organizations, and veteran’s centers to inspire critical conversations about war through the power of dance
Mr. Baca graduated from St. Mary’s College of California (BA Cum Laude 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, and is also a PhD Candidate investigating the military human through the arts at York St John University in the UK. Outside of his studies in London, Mr. Baca volunteered for the Soldiers’ Arts Academy C.I.C. and served on the leadership team that delivered the first UK Veterans Art Festival alongside the 2019 UK Invictus Trials in Sheffield, UK
Mr. Baca is the recipient of a 2020 scholarship to York St. John University, the 2019 Selma Jeanne Cohen Dance Lecture Award, a 2017-2018 US-UK Fulbright Postgraduate Award to the Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London, 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.
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EXIT12 COMPANY ARTISTS
LISA FITZGERALD
Associate Artistic Director, Artist
Lisa Fitzgerald is a ballet dancer and teacher originally from Massachusetts. Ms. Fitzgerald graduated from the professional ballet training program at the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, and afterwards danced with Connecticut Ballet, Ballet Theatre Company, Sarah Berges Dance, Ballet Ambassadors, and Ballet des Amériques. Ms. Fitzgerald’s roles include The Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Kitri in Don Quixote, Gamzatti in La Bayadere, and has had various classical and contemporary roles created for her.
Ms. Fitzgerald co-founded Exit12 Dance Company as a way aid her husband Román's transition back to civilian life post deployment and use dance as a way to heal As Associate Artistic Director Ms. Fitzgerald has performed and taught throughout the United States at institutions including West Point Military Academy, Stanford University, and Lincoln Center.
As a classical ballet teacher Ms. Fitzgerald has taught at Mark Morris Dance Group, Ballet Theatre Company, and Regal Ballet London, West London School of Dance, among others Along with teaching, Ms. Fitzgerald has choreographed and staged both original and classical ballets for children’s programs and pre-professional schools. She has prepared students for classical ballet competitions and worked as a teaching artist, making dance accessible to children who might not otherwise have the opportunity.
Ms. Fitzgerald graduated summa cum laude from St. Mary’s College of California with a BA in Performing Arts. Ms. Fitzgerald holds a certificate for the first three years of professional ballet education from the Bolshoi Ballet Teacher Certification Program Ms Fitzgerald is currently an MA student in Dance Education at the Royal Academy of Dance in London.
EXIT12 COMPANY ARTISTS
ADRIENNE DE LA FUENTE
Company Manager, Artist
Adrienne de la Fuente graduated summa cum laude from Fordham University with a BA in French Studies and Philosophy and a minor in Spanish.
Adrienne de la Fuente joined Exit12 in 2010 and has been with the company ever since, performing and leading workshops throughout the US and abroad. In 2016, she became Exit12's Company Manager and Rehearsal Director. Through her work with Exit12, she has developed a greater understanding of the military's influence on her own family and the community where she was raised.
A California native, she trained with Richard Gibson and Zory Karah at the Academy of Ballet and with Fran Spector Atkins at SpectorDance. She was a member of SpectorDance Company and danced in Fran Spector Atkins’ Figures in the Dust based on John Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath. After moving to New York City, Adrienne trained at The Ailey School. She has also taught workshops with JUNTOS Dance Collective in New York City, Mexico, and Guatemala.
Outside of Exit12, Adrienne has performed with SpectorDance Company, the JUNTOS Dance Collective, Brooklyn Ballet, and freelanced with several NYC-based choreographers. She is also COO at Private Prep, an educational service company headquartered in New York City.
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EXIT12 COMPANY ARTISTS
TAYLOR GORDON
Rehearsal Director, Artist
Taylor Gordon, an international dancer, teacher, and director has danced with Exit12 since 2010. She is currently a Show Supervisor for Step One Dance Company/RWS and Resident Director for Dublin Worldwide Productions as well as on Musical Theater faculty at New York Film Academy.
Taylor has performed at Lincoln Center with The Metropolitan Opera Ballet, in 4 seasons of The Radio City Christmas Spectacular, Off-Broadway and national tour of Angelina Ballerina The Musical, at The Kennedy Center & Carnegie Hall, internationally as a dance captain with Spirit Productions, TUI Cruises, & Cirque Le Masque, at Jacob’s Pillow, and, and with numerous ballet & contemporary companies in NYC like Exit12 Dance Company.
The New York Times wrote, “ on that big stage, Ms. Gordon does indeed seem a star,” referring to Radio City Music Hall in a full page Sunday Arts feature She trained at Boston Ballet, The Rock School, and Ballet Academy East and spent summers with Twyla Tharp, Complexions, ABT, & Miami City Ballet. An AGMA and AGVA member, she has appeared on television in a principal role in a commercial on Time Warner Cable NYC, on PBS Great Performance at the Met Live in HD, MTV’s “Made,” and The Today Show. She has been featured on CNN, NBC, Fox News, ABC, CBS, Dance Magazine, Vanity Fair Online, The Huffington Post, Dance Spirit, and The Times of India.
Taylor received a BA in Communication Arts and a Master’s Degree in Publishing by age 20 Taylor teaches in NYC at The Pilates Movement, The Mercedes Club, and the United Nations Ballet Club, and her workout videos are available on Amazon. She has guest taught in Japan, China, India, Bali, and across the US. Taylor has interned at The New Yorker and written for publications including Pointe www.taylorjgordon.com
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EXIT12 COMPANY ARTISTS
DANIELLE RUTHERFORD
Artist
Danielle has spent her professional career dancing with Exit12 & XAOC Contemporary Ballet, performing in the City, creatively working in local residencies, and performing on tours across the country. She’s has the privilege of originating several roles in both companies’ repertoires, as well as being a part of Exit12’s featured short film, ‘Moved By War.’ Her fondest performance memory is performing “Grandmother” in Ballet Theatre Company’s production of ‘The Nutcracker,’ but her performance history primarily includes contemporary ballet works in shows such as Norte Maar's CounterPointe, Battery Dance Festival, XAOC Ballet's 'Choreography Up Close Vol I & II,' Fleet Week at the Intrepid, NYC DOT’s Summer Streets Festival, Brooklyn Ballet’s ‘First Look,’ & The Americans for the Arts 4th National Summit: R&R Festival of Performing Arts.
JARRED BOSCH
Artist
Originally from Biloxi, Mississippi, Jarred Bosch received his BFA in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College and is currently dancing with Carolyn Dorfman Dance. Previously, Bosch has been the rehearsal director for LaneCoArts and worked with other companies such as Jackie Nowicki’s NOW Dance Project, Amanda Selwyn Dance Theater, Project 44 and Exit12 Dance Company.
As an educator and choreographer, Bosch currently teaches at Peridance Capezio Center, Physique 57, and has taught for company class for Broadway Donations and other studios and companies classes in the United States.
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EXIT12 COMPANY ARTISTS
JAFET REINOSO
Artist
Jafet Reinoso, born in Santo Domingo, graduated from the National Dance School of the Dominican Republic and joined the Dominican National Ballet at the age of 18 years old where he worked as corps de ballet and performed as a soloist. Jafet has danced for Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre and American Liberty Ballet and independent choreographers and currently dances for Connecticut Ballet as a soloist
NICHOLAS CUNHA
Artist
Nicholas Cuhuna is incredibly grateful to be returning to Exit12, and to continue to create and perform such meaningful and impactful works Credits – New York: Cherubini’s Requiem (Lincoln Center), Macbeth (Circle in the Square). Regional: On Your Feet! (Paper Mill Playhouse), White Christmas (Shaw Festival), Disney’s Hunchback of Notre Dame (Quasimodo, Toronto Premiere) Film/TV: PJ Masks (Disney Junior). Concert Performances: The Rolling Stones (50 & Counting Tour), Cirque du Soleil (Luzia). Originally from Toronto, Canada, Nicholas is a graduate of the University of Toronto Political Science program and Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City
LIZ K. FREEMAN Artist, Safeguarding Lead
Liz K. Freeman is the Lead Dance/Movement Therapist for Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network. She lives in Washington, DC where she works at a brain injury and psychological health treatment center, and she just became an auntie!
EXIT12 SPECIAL GUEST
PETER MEINECK
Director Warrior Chorus, Antigone
Peter Meineck holds the endowed chair of Associate Professor of Classics in the Modern World at New York University He specializes in ancient performance, cognitive theory, Greek literature and culture and humanities public programming. Professor Meineck received his PhD in Classics from the University of Nottingham and his BA (hons) in Ancient World Studies from University College London In addition to his academic career he has worked extensively in the professional theatre in New York and London, founding Aquila Theatre in 1991. His national public programs have earned a Chairman’s Special Award from the National Endowment for the Humanities and numerous grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The Hayden, Onassis and Mid Atlantic Arts foundations, among others. These programs include Ancient Greeks/Modern Lives, The Warrior Chorus and Shakespeare Leaders in Harlem He has also directed, and or produced over 50 productions of classical plays at venues as diverse as Lincoln Center, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Carnegie Hall, The Ancient Stadium at Delphi and the Bush and Obama White House. His productions of classical drama have toured extensively throughout North America and Europe.
Professor Meineck has published widely in the field of ancient performance, his most recent works include a new translation of Aristophanes' Frogs (Hackett 2021), The Routledge Handbook of Classics and Cognitive Theory (Routledge 2020), and Theatrocracy: Greek Drama, Cognition and the Imperative for Theatre (Routledge 2017). He has published numerous translations of Greek plays and had several of his translations and adaptations produced on the professional stage. His translation of Aeschylus' Oresteia was awarded the 2001/2 Louis Galantiere Award by the American Translators Association. He is also Honorary Professor of Classics at the University of Nottingham and has held fellowships at Princeton University, the Harvard Center for Hellenic Studies, the University of California San Diego and the Onassis Foundation.
Among the awards he has received, are the 2009 NYU Golden Dozen Teaching Award, a 2009 Humanities Initiative Team Teaching Award, the American Philological Association Outreach Prize, and the Outstanding Teacher Award at USC. He also serves as a firefighter and emergency medical technician in New York and is currently the Rescue Captain with the Bedford Fire Department
Professor Meineck teaches ancient drama, ancient theatre production, classical literature and mythology, ancient war and society, global literature, theatre history, Shakespeare, cognitive theory as applied to ancient studies and drama, dramaturgy, directing, acting, arts administration, and applied theatre.
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EXIT12 WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS
DOROTHEA HAHN
Artist
Dorothea Hahn is a reporter from Germany who has worked in Mexico, France, Spain and lately in the US. She has two beloved veterans in her life.
ANTHONY ROBERTS
Artist
Anthony Roberts is a retired Army officer who is the author of the books Pigtown and The Clearing Barrel. He is currently working on his next book, a play, and dreaming of living in a small stone house on a Greek Island.
DÃMASA DOYLE
Artist
Dãmasa Doyle, former Naval Cryptologist, current De-Cruit facilitator and founder of DamaSoul Health & Wellness is a Medicine Woman, Mindfulness Coach and Certified Yoga, Reiki, Thai bodywork & Energy practitioner who brings integrated indigenous practices & the art of ritual & joy to veterans, Educators, Students of all ages and caregivers globally. She is most proud of being a magical yet goofy & loving mom to her sons Justice & Phoenix.
MARY JO “MJ” MCCONNELL
Artist
Actor R N Veteran Guided Meditation Leader www.MaryJoMcConnell.com
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EXIT12 WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS
EVERETT COX
Artist
Everett Cox served in the U S Army from 1966-1969 He served in Viet Nam in 1969 with the 245th Surveillance Airplane Company at Marble Mt. Airbase and was an aerial camera specialist. Mr. Cox has worked most of his life as a laborer. He lived and worked for 7 years at New Experimental College in Denmark and did 7 years of volunteer work with the Association of World Education, an NGO at the United Nations in New York trying to implement a global minimum wage. He is the father of a magnificent 23-year-old son.
TOMMY WILLIAMS
Artist
Tommy Williams is a former US Navy Iraq War combat veteran. He has been working in finance in London and NYC for many years after his military service. As a professional actor, he also continues his creative acting passions with occasional theater/film/TV appearances.
JASON ASHER
Artist
Jason Asher is an actor and performing artist who is honored to be collaborating with such a wonderful and creative group. He works professionally as a corporate trainer, teambuilding facilitator and executive coach. And he makes a mean apple pie.
JENNY PACANOWSKI
Artist
Jenny Pacanowski is the founder and director of Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving. She served in Iraq as a combat medic during operation Iraqi freedom.
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EXIT12 WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS
MONIQUE ARRUCCI
Artist
Monique Arrucci, a Brooklyn Native, joined the U.S. Army in 2002, after 9/11, and served for eight years She deployed to Iraq 20042005 and currently, has been utilizing Dance, Art, Singing, Writing, Music, and Acting on her healing journey.
BRIDGET DOLAN
Artist
Bridget Dolan (US Navy Veteran), actor, and storyteller who has a passion for animals (especially doggos)/music/visual arts/nature. She is currently on an ancestry journey and her dream is to be a guest on Finding Your Roots on PBS. http://www bridgetdolanactor com
DONNIE RAY BANKS
Artist
Donnie Ray Banks is an Army Veteran, actor, and filmmaker from North Carolina living in NYC. They are the youngest child of a woman called Hank.
DONNA ZEPHRINE
Artist
Donna is a Army veteran who is a writer a member of the VFW, Team Rubicon, play sled hockey with the Long island rough riders and likes to travel and like spending time with family.
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EXIT12 WORKSHOP PARTICIPANTS
NATALIA Artist
Natalia is an artist and a dancer from Odessa, Ukraine.
ANNA Artist
Anna is an artist and a dancer from Odessa, Ukraine
PROGRAM NOTES
ANTIGONE - EXCERPT
Antigone has been made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.
FOR MY FATHER - EXCERPT
For My Father was originally commissioned by the Daddy Appleseed Fund and premiered at Arlington National Cemetery in 2019.
ABOUT TRUTHS COLLIDING
This project is made possible by a partnership with the Intrepid Museum through a Creative Forces Community Engagement Grant, part of the National Endowment for the Arts’ Creative Forces® initiative, in partnership with Mid-America Arts Alliance.
This project is also made possible by public funds facilitated by the New York City Council's Committee on Veterans, in partnership with the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature
PROGRAM NOTES
ABOUT EXIT12 DANCE COMPANY
Exit12 started in 2007 as a way for former professional ballet dancer turned US Marine Iraq War Veteran to reconnect and heal post deployment to Fallujah in 2005, by turning war stories into conversation provoking performances. Exit12 has reached over 10,000 military connected individuals and 70,000 civilians with its programming.
Exit12 has grown into a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that engages the military community in the arts to aid recovery and improve health and wellbeing.
EXIT12 WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A WARM THANK YOU TO:
The Creative Forces team, especially Liz Freeman and Bill O’Brien, Mid-America Arts Alliance especially Matt Aelmore, The Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum especially Charlotte Martin, Irene Tsitko, Molly Sloan, and Lynda Kennedy, Joe Bello, Allan Shedlin and the Daddy Appleseed Fund, Dave de la Fuente, Mollie Petrizzo, Eliska Bouzkova, RWS Entertainment especially Kyle Groff, Kimberly Giannelli, Peter Meineck, Flannel & Blade, especially Beth Davenport, our film crew, especially Kashka Glowacka, Erin Trieb, the photographers of the Odyssey/Josephine Herrick Project, and people like you who support our crowdfunding campaigns and fundraising efforts SCAN
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THE QR CODE TO MAKE A DONATION TO EXIT12 TODAY
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EXIT12 RECOMMENDS
Women Veterans Empowered & Thriving (WVE&T) provides workshops utilizing a specialized empowerment model designed for the reintegration from military service to civilian culture These empowerment workshops are accessible and ongoing each month. WVE&T provides education and awareness about women veterans and veteran issues by providing speakers for panels and public speaking events. WVE&T also invites the public to listen to veterans empathetically in the modernizing of rituals storytelling created by ancient warrior cultures in which the veterans share their experiences and build a bridge of connection between veterans and civilians. The unique thing about WVE&T is that every veteran/family member that speaks/performs, facilitates or panels for our organization is a paid for their time, expertise and courage.
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EXIT12 RECOMMENDS
CreatiVets’ goal is to offer opportunities for relief and healing for the men and women who have sacrificed so much for our country. Our purpose is to use various forms of art, including songwriting, visual arts, music, and creative writing, to help disabled veterans cope with service-related trauma (i.e., post-traumatic stress, or PTS) by fostering self-expression in a way that allows them to transform their stories of trauma and struggle into an art form that can inspire and motivate continued healing Through compassion, we are helping veterans live again. https://creativets.org
Aquila Theatre's mission is to create innovative interpretations of the classics for today’s audiences. By diversifying the classics and expanding the canon, Aquila seeks to enhance the plurality of our perspectives.
Aquila Theatre is one of the foremost producers of classical theatre in the United States and has been bringing audiences world-class actors, captivating designs, innovative adaptations, and impactful direction since 1991. Aquila Theatre also provides extensive educational offerings and is an award-winning leader in the field of public arts and humanities programming.
Aquila Theatre's Warrior Chorus is a national initiative that trains military veterans to present innovative public programs based on ancient literature, presented in partnership with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
https://www.aquilatheatre.com/
