Across the United States, military veterans are finding new ways to process trauma, reclaim identity, and rebuild community through a surprising source: dance. Thanks to the Creative Forces: NEA Military Healing Arts Network, a partnership led by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), veterans are connecting with healing through movement, storytelling, and creativity—sometimes for the first time since returning home.
The Creative Forces initiative helps veterans process PTSD and trauma through art therapy, community-based workshops, and performance opportunities. One partnership that’s especially fascinating is that of Exit12 Dance Company, a New York–based ensemble founded by U.S. Marine Corps veteran Román Baca. Exit12 works with veterans through movement workshops that can culminate in public performances, but at the end of the day this initiative is more about helping veterans express their stories and connect through shared experience.
For many veterans, this shift from regimented choreography in the “theater of war” to creative expression in a dance studio is both jarring and transformative. Where once their movements were bound to precision and discipline under threat of violence, they now engage in gestures of vulnerability, memory, and release. In Exit12’s workshops, veterans learn to move through trauma by reimagining the narratives stored in their bodies.
Participants describe the journey as liberating, though often challenging. Whether through dance, writing, or spoken word, each activity encourages them to confront personal histories—combat, grief, transition, or isolation—and transform them into something expressive. The workshops gently guide veterans from simple movement into more complex choreography, helping them rediscover joy and reclaim control over how they present themselves to the world.
Rather than focus on individual healing, Creative Forces helps foster a community of veterans intent on working through their drama. Veterans often report feeling disconnected after returning to civilian life, no longer surrounded by the camaraderie that once defined their daily routines. Exit12 and similar programs create a space that allows vets to reconnect with former soliders as well as people affected by conflict like refugees from Ukraine.
The performances born from these workshops are more than just artistic showcases; they are public affirmations that healing is possible. For the audience, they offer insight into the ongoing psychological toll of service.
While performing, veterans are empowered by working out the things that happened to them rather than letting those things rule their lives.
In its mission to connect art and health, Creative Forces demonstrates that movement can speak when words fall short. Through partnerships like Exit12, the initiative is not only supporting recovery but challenging public perceptions of what healing looks like for those who have served.
