High Life : A WEEKLY FORUM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS : Teens Are Hard Act to Follow : Awards: Mission Viejo and Los Alamitos students win Music Center scholarship prizes for a song and dance.

When Shauna Bradford took her place on stage in front of 3,200 people at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, her bundle of nerves dissipated as the adrenaline rushed through her veins. Dancing had always been easy for Bradford, but competing in the fourth annual Music Center Spotlight Awards had not been so easy.

Bradford, an 18-year-old senior at Los Alamitos High School and the Orange County High School of the Arts, was one of two Orange County students to make it to the March 10 finals of the rigorous competition, where she finished as a runner-up in the jazz/modern dance category.

Adrienne Steifel, a 14-year-old freshman at Mission Viejo High, was the other finalist--and the winner of the pop/musical theater vocal category. Steifel was awarded a $5,000 scholarship for her performance of “Someone Like You” from the musical “Jekyll and Hyde”; Bradford received a $2,500 scholarship.

Each began her long road to the finals in October with more than 400 hopefuls from five Southern California counties. The finalists were selected by auditions in January and February.

“I really did not think I would go this far because I’m so young,” Steifel said before her winning performance. “I didn’t think I’d get to the semifinals, but to get to the finals was really, really exciting.”

Bradford, who lives in Los Alamitos, echoed those emotions: “I was really surprised when I got picked, because I went in with the attitude that, ‘Well, I’m just going to do the best that I can do, and if I get in, that will be great; if I don’t, I’ll just be happy that I made it to the semifinals.’ ”

Their successes have not come without years of work and dedication.

Steifel, a resident of Laguna Hills, got her start at age 9 when her parents finally assented to her pleading for a chance to start an acting career.

In the past four years, she has performed with numerous Southern California theater companies. She appeared in the title roles in “Oliver!” and “Annie” for the Greater Los Angeles Children’s Theatre and was named performer of the year for her performance as “Annie” for the Whittier-La Mirada Light Opera Assn.

She starred in the California Music Theater production of “Annie” at the Orange County Performing Arts Center and at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in 1990, and acted in “The Crucible” and “Sunday in the Park With George” at South Coast Repertory.

“It’s been my dream all my life and I definitely want to pursue it,” Steifel says of performing.

Bradford has been studying dance since the age of 4, when her mother took her to see “The Nutcracker” ballet in Cincinnati.

“My mom signed me up” for dance class, she said, “and I’ve been going strong ever since.” Bradford performed with the OCHSA dance department during her first two years of high school. She took a break in her junior year to be a song leader for Los Alamitos, but she returned to OCHSA this year in the commercial dance department.

“I feel that a good dancer is a well-balanced dancer who is advanced at all levels and all types of dance,” she says.

Bradford has danced professionally as an extra in the movie “Class Act” with Kid N’ Play.

Said OCHSA Director Ralph Opacic: “When Shauna first came to the Orange County High School of the Arts, it was obvious that she had a lot of talent and a lot of potential as a dancer. Over the last several years, she’s really worked hard, and she’s really pushed herself.”

Voice coach Seth Riggs, who helped train Steifel and the 15 other Spotlight pop and musical theater semifinalists, has worked with stars such as Michael and Janet Jackson, Madonna, Stevie Wonder, Natalie Cole and Bette Midler.

“Adrienne’s going to have a wonderful career,” Riggs predicted. “When she lets go, she has a range of 3 1/2 octaves. She’s really wonderful.”

Rey Lozano, a OCHSA dance instructor who has worked with Paula Abdul, said he was hoping the Spotlight judges would recognize Bradford’s talents.

“I thought that she had the ability to do it, and I’m really excited for her,” Lozano said. “She reaches out and communicates to the audience. She’s become so well-rounded that she can do just about anything.”

Steifel’s victory was a surprise to her, according to her brother Val, a senior at Santa Margarita High.

“She didn’t think she was going to win because she thought she was really overmatched,” he said. “She thought it was a mistake at first.”

Judging the pop/musical theater category were John Raitt, Hal David and Joe Williams. For the jazz/modern dance category, it was Paula Kelly, Bella Lewitzky and Juliet Prowse.

Cindy Peca, an instructor at Pace Dance Studios in Huntington Beach and Bradford’s choreographer for the competition, said she was thrilled with her student’s accomplishment.

“I was extremely proud of her,” Peca said. “It’s amazing that more than 400 people tried out, two were picked, and she was one of them.”

Added Bradford, who upon graduation hopes to join a dance company that will tour the United States for three months: “I was really happy with the results. I knew I did a good job. and it’s great to know that during the entire thing, everyone was a winner.”

The Spotlight Awards is a fund-raiser for the Music Center Unified Fund, with proceeds benefiting the Music Center resident companies and dance education and community programs.

Trisha Ginsburg is a junior at Los Alamitos High School, where she is editor-in-chief of the Crusader, the student newspaper, and an active member of many campus clubs.