4 O.C. Students Make Finals of Arts Competition

Four students from Orange County--a record number--have been named finalists in the fifth annual Los Angeles Music Center Spotlight Awards performing arts competition, taking a third of the finalist slots.

“Every year we really have good representation from Orange County, but this is the first year we’ve had four students” in the finals, said Alison Cotter, a spokeswoman for the Music Center of Los Angeles County, which sponsors the awards. The other eight finalists are from Los Angeles County.

There are six categories in the competition. Two finalists are named in each. One will receive $5,000 and the runner-up will get $2,500 when the awards are announced April 7.

The local finalists are Rebecca Thompson of Huntington Beach, a ballet dancer studying at the Southland Ballet Academy in Fountain Valley; Scott Cheek of Fullerton, who attends the Orange County High School of the Arts in Los Alamitos and is competing in the pop/musical theater vocal category; Corinne Chapelle of Irvine, a violinist attending the Juilliard School in New York; and Amy Kathleen Rodibaugh of Corona del Mar, an opera singer attending Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana.

About 600 students from throughout Southern California took part in the competition.

Finalist Thompson will perform in Huntington Beach this weekend with two former principal dancers from the Bolshoi Ballet in the Festival Ballet Theatre production of “Giselle.”

Alla Khaniashvili and husband Vitaly Artyushkin, now living in Los Angeles, will dance the lead roles at the Huntington Beach High School auditorium, 1905 Main St., Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 to $12. Information: (714) 962-5440.