four voices. one stage.
Garage Arts Project in collaboration with Plano International Festival presents BRIDGES 2026 - bringing together independent artists, a professional dance company, GAP produced ensemble and emerging artistic voices from Collin College, Plano and SMU Dallas.
We are shaped by what we experience: the people we love, the places we leave, moments of loss and joy, conflict and connection. Fragments of Us: Becoming explores what happens when those fragments become part of who we are. Through dance, music, poetry and multidisciplinary collaboration, Bridges 2026 brings together artists who approach that question from very different places.
GAP'S VOICE
GAP produced
TAIKO X MOVEMENT
COLLABORATIVE VOICE
Bridges cohort
artists 2026
PROFESSIONAL VOICE
ad deum
dance company
NEXT GEN EMERGING VOICE
Student
Collaborations
GAP'S VOICE | GAP PRODUCED
Taiko x Movement
Goisagi, a Dallas/Fort Worth Taiko ensemble, and movement artist Emi Lou Matsushita open the evening with a new collaboration bringing contemporary Taiko and movement into one shared language.
About Goisagi : Goisagi (Jay Cantu, Kris Wong, Mayuri Patel, and Kena Sosa) brings contemporary influence to traditional taiko, building original compositions around choreographed visuals and dynamic solos. The group has performed at the Nasher Biennial Artist Laureate Tribute and SXSW, and released two recordings on Amplify 817: the EP Alight (2022) and their debut LP Inertia (2025). They were nominated for Best Avant-Garde Artist at the 2023 Fort Worth Weekly Year of Music Awards.
About Emi: Emi Lou brings 29+ years of movement practice across hip hop, contemporary, krump, and improvisation, shaped by an MFA in Dance Science from Trinity Laban Conservatoire, where she studied hip-hop battle culture. She teaches at UNT and Dallas College, serves as Board President of Art Boost, and is currently developing arts and health initiatives in Dallas rooted in the belief that art is a tool for healing and collective transformation.
"Top-notch artistic collaboration and innovative performances" - Bridges 2024 attendee
COLLABORATIVE VOICE | INDEPENDENT ARTISTS OF DFW
the 2026 bridges cohort Artists
Four independent DFW artists from different disciplines enter one creative process. Over several weeks, they have been developing a single collaborative work around the question of becoming.
No one artist is creating the work alone. The piece emerges through conversation, experimentation, movement, music, poetry, compromise and discovery.
What you see on stage is the result of that process.
Thulsi Ram
Fusion Artist, Choreographer, Artistic Director
Thulsi is a fusion performing artist, choreographer, and artistic director based in the DFW Metroplex. His movement practice brings together Bollywood, Hip Hop, and Modern dance, informed by over two decades of yoga training and a deep understanding of the body.
As the Founder and Creative Director of Team Ground Zero, Thulsi has led performances on national stages and created work that moves fluidly across genres and cultures. His choreographic and performance work spans competition, theatre, film, and community engagement, with a continued interest in using movement as a tool for expression, connection, and transformation.
Verb Kulture
Poet, Producer, Cultural Curator
Verb Kulture is an award-winning, published poet, producer, and cultural curator who has shaped the Dallas–Fort Worth arts landscape for over 16 years. She is the creator of the long-running Harlem Renaissance Extravaganza, BeatStreet Poetry Live, Words Over Wine, and P.O.P. Kulture along with acclaimed productions like Rhythm & Rhapsody and Unveiling Echoes. Recognized by media outlets including the Dallas Morning News, Dallas Observer, Voyage Dallas, and Good Morning Texas, Verb Kulture continues to build platforms that amplify poetry, dance, music, and theater in the community.
RJ Douglas aka Nxbdy
Singer-songwriter, Producer
`Producer, multi-instrumentalist, and artist “nxbdy” has been making tracks ever since a young age. Nxbdy started his musical journey playing classical saxophone at the age of 9. He continued his studies throughout his teenage years attending Booker T. Washington Arts Magnet High School, and as well some college at the University of North Texas. Currently nxbdy is an active member of the local Dallas music scene, as a musician and audio engineer. In which he plays piano and saxophone for different gigs, as well as, mixing live music venues. Nxbdy has played and mixed in local bands, event bands, and even wedding bands all around the Dallas Metroplex since the age of 16. He has also been a studio musician, since the age of 17, playing and producing local and abroad artists. Artists such as Spike Chester, Pat Rzl, and Fishing in Japan.
Tessa Salomone holds an MFA in Choreography from Trinity Laban Conservatoire and a BFA in Ballet from TCU. While a company member with PDX Contemporary Ballet, she had the opportunity to develop her first commissioned work; later she facilitated choreographic workshops with iMEE blank | SLATE and The Playing Fields. In 2024, they were an Aimed Dance Emerging Choreographer Fellow and presented their work in Dance Source Houston’s Mind the Gap. Most recently, they were honored to be a part of Agora Artists’ 2026 SEEDS cohort, the second annual Dallas Indie Dance Fest, and are currently on the dance faculty at Dallas College. Her choreographic research examines how dance, as an embodied form of testimony, can heighten the ability to form a connection of kinesthetic empathy between performers and audiences.
Choreographer, Dance Educator, Performer
Tessa Salomone
"Thrilled to witness such a distinct creative performance" - Bridges 2023 attendee
PROFESSIONAL VOICE | WORLD CLASS CONTEMPORARY DANCE
ad deum dance company, Houston
Ad Deum Dance Company is a contemporary dance company from Houston.
With more than two decades of artistic work and international touring across the United States, Canada, Mexico, Europe and Asia, Ad Deum brings a powerful professional voice to Bridges 2026.
"Amazing Show! I love the mixture of art and culture! I'll definitely be back next year!" - Bridges 2024 attendee
Collin college, plano
NEXT GEN EMERGING VOICE
Student Collaborations
SMU Dance + Collin College
The evening closes by bringing emerging artists to the stage.
Student dancers and artists from SMU and Collin College join the Bridges lineup, offering a glimpse into the next generation of the DFW arts community.
SMU dance, Dallas
Swipe to know more about the artists!
At Bridges Festival, we believe art has the power to bring people together, across disciplines, across communities, across experiences. Whether you’re an art lover or simply curious, join us for a night that celebrates collaboration and the shared stories that make us human.
Come see what happens when different voices meet!
Join us on Saturday, 17th October, 7:30 PM at Courtyard Theatre, Plano TX.
This event is partially funded by the Texas Commission on the Arts.
We thank our collaborator Plano International Festival
