When Encinitas resident Sadie Weinberg learned about two young people killed by vehicles in separate incidents, she was flooded with grief and outrage. Now, she is using the complex emotions in the aftermath to engage with her community on an artistic level.

LITVAKdance studio’s 2025 fall concert “THIS” on Nov. 22 and 23 will feature 14 dancers, several choreographers and three performances dedicated to two recent youth deaths in Encinitas, that of Brodee Champlain-Kingman, 15, and Emery Chalekian, 12.

“When Emery was killed, I changed gears in my work entirely. Several of these dances are now responses to these deaths,” Weinberg explained.

As a parent, teacher, resident and neighbor of Emery, Weinberg felt pulled to create a piece of work that inspired viewers, while simultaneously holding space for the emotions herself and many others felt.

“It was close to my heart. Before Emery was killed, another young boy Brodee was killed. Each of them were simply trying to explore the world without their parents for the first time,” Weinberg said. “I was confronted with the idea of ‘how can you keep being an artist, while also holding space for grief.’”

Using emotions and reaching deep into her community to propel her work, Weinberg began fleshing out how to best encapsulate the stories of Emery and Brodee.

“Within my work, I never want to place a viewpoint onto my audiences, but I do want to open a space for them to think more about topics like this. The worlds of art and tragedy do collide, and so do advocacy and art making. What do we owe each other? What is our responsibility to our community? When we live in a world that is so vast and can be so disconnected, we owe it to each other to care for each other, especially in a city like Encinitas,” said Weinberg.

For Weinberg, hosting the 2025 fall concert “THIS” serves as a means to connect with Encinitas, offering a shared space for expression.

“It is beautiful to be in the grief and beauty and joy all at once. We can be upset and stricken by this tragedy but also show up. When we can, we should remind each other to see the humanity in these people that were lost,” said Weinberg.

Having both danced since a young age, Emery and Weinberg shared much in common, making choreographing and executing the 2025 fall concert’s dedication dances a natural fit.

“I feel akin to Emery. Dance was the place that made me feel freedom and made me feel at peace when I was her age. Having spoken with her mom, that was the same for Emery. Dance and art making can have such a deep effect. I want to honor her by showing up in this way,” said Weinberg.

At her studio, LITVAKdance, Weinberg’s model surrounds this idea of expression and acceptance. From classes to performances, utilizing dance as a means of both storytelling and reflection, Weinberg urges her dancers and choreographers to grapple with the difficulties of the world, forming thoughtful pieces of work.

“For this concert, there will be six pieces, three I made, two are dedicated to Emery and one to Brodee. Another choreographer is Ronen Izhaki, whose work is very much tied to forgiveness and vengeance. There is a duo of choreographers as well, Kaia Makihara and Chelsea Roquero, who will explore the idea of the many emotional states we have. And finally, April Ta is producing a piece about slowing down and caring for yourself and others,” Weinberg explained.

The two dances dedicated to Emery are titled The Crossing and A Mother’s Grief. The piece dedicated to Brodee is titled Making Circles.

“The piece The Crossing will feature nine dancers on stage; eight women will be ‘supporting’ one dancer across the stage. It is an homage to the idea of womanhood and how often at the age Emery was, girls trio up and I hope this can reflect the many trios of friends that Emery had in her life. Ultimately, all the dancers on stage will support her across, reflecting the idea that community brings us together,” Weinberg said.

Across all dances set to take stage during the 2025 fall concert “THIS”, Weinberg and her fellow choreographers are hopeful viewers will take what they need.

“I think and hope this can be a space for people to discover what they need to discover. I do not want people to take the idea of interpretive dance and try too hard to find a plot or a moral. As viewers, what do you need out of this dance today? What I love about having this company is that each audience member will like something different, which is supported by how many choreographers we have,” Weinberg said.

Ultimately, Weinberg’s biggest hope is that “THIS” will feed acceptance, hope and compassion back into the community.

“I want viewers to recognize everyone had their own story. At the core of this concert is exploring what it means to make space, and feel and have empathy,” Weinberg said.

“THIS” will be hosted at 3 and 6 p.m. on Nov. 22 and 23 at San Dieguito Academy Theatre, 800 Santa Fe Dr., Encinitas. Tickets and information are available at https://www.litvakdance.com/performs