Fri, Sep 18
|Kimball Arts Center
Unpacking Home
"Unpacking Home" follows The Poet, a character in search of home, who receives a suitcase from their ancestors filled with items that unlock memories and guide their journey through the Chicago Puerto Rican experience...
Time & Location
Sep 18, 2026, 8:00 PM – 10:30 PM
Kimball Arts Center, 1757 N Kimball Ave, Chicago, IL 60647, USA
Event Info
"Unpacking Home" follows The Poet, a character in search of home, who receives a suitcase from their ancestors filled with items that unlock memories and guide their journey through the Chicago Puerto Rican experience.
Dancers embody these memories—giving form to identity, love, struggle, and resilience. From Abuela’s kitchen to snowy streets and the domino table, each vignette reveals a layer of belonging. The performance culminates in an invitation for the audience to reflect and share, completing the search for home as a collective act of remembrance.
Presented in partnership with CLATA
ABOUT: Maria Luisa Torres
Maria Luisa Torres ia a dance instructor, performing artist, and dance therapist. Her love for Latin Dance stems from her Puerto Rican roots and connection to her Latinx culture. Her passion for dance and psychology led her to pursue a Masters Degree in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling at Columbia College Chicago, where she gained a strong understanding of the importance of the mind-body connection. She uses this skill set and approach with her students, aiming to shape well-rounded dancers through the power of movement.
ABOUT: Luis Tubens
Luis Tubens, a.k.a “Logan Lu”, is a Chicago born, Puerto Rican spoken word artist and educator. He is the author of “Stone Eagle” published by Bobbin Lace Press in 2014. In 2014 and 2018 he represented Chicago at the U.S. National Poetry Slam. He has toured the U.S., Mexico, and Puerto Rico, and was the feature poet at Spoken Word Istanbul in Istanbul, Turkey and the Slam Colombia Festival Open Mic. As an educator with the Chicago Poetry Center, he held workshops for students in the Chicago Public Schools and residents in jails. He was awarded the “First Voice Award” from the Chicago Center for Urban Life and Culture. Currently, Luis is the resident poet for ESSO Funk (Best New Band and Best International Music Act, Chicago Reader), he is one the organizers of Slam Diáspora, and he is touring his latest production “Raíces to Roots”.