STATE OF THE ART

The following students advanced as finalists in receiving prestigious 2021 Dragon Kim Fellowships from the Dragon Kim Foundation. If selected for the fellowship, teams will be awarded up to $5,000 to implement a community service project as a part of a seven-month, hands-on leadership training and mentorship program. OCSA’s finalists are listed below by team.

Art Unlimited: Abril Rodriguez Diaz (CW, ‘22)
Eye Matter: Cece Fanelli (PD, ‘22) and Anjal Jain (CV, ‘22)
Intertwined: Adin Choun (IM, ‘22) and Katelyn Jo (IM, ‘22)
Let’s Learn about Public Health!: Melody Chang (IM, ‘22)
Pacific Bridge: Iris Wang (IM, ‘22) and Eric Zhu (FTV, ‘22)
Sembrando Dahlias: Bianca Lozano (BF, ‘21) and Samantha Perez (BF, ‘21)
Time Travel With Music: Leo Sui (IM, ‘23)
Uncovering Strengths: Saira Arora (IM, ‘22) and Emma McCanne (IM, ‘22)
We are Dancing Women: Grace Kim (BR, ‘22) and Hana Uehara (BR, ‘23)

Landyn Slominski (BF, '26) competed in the Latin Mirage Ultimate Soloist Competition and placed second for her choreography from the state of Hidalgo in the Folklórico Dance category.

The following students were selected as 2021 Dragon Kim Fellows and earned $5,000 community service grants from the Dragon Kim Foundation. These students were chosen from over 240 applicants across California and Nevada and went through a rigorous interview process to earn the fellowships.

Melody Chang (IM, ‘22)
Adin Choung (IM, ‘22)
Abril Rodriguez Diaz (CW, ‘22)
Katelyn Jo (IM, ‘22)
Samantha Perez (BF, ‘22)
Iris Wang (IM, ‘22)
Eric Zhu (FTV, ‘22)

The Orange County Register announced the nominees for the 8th Annual Artist of the Year Award. This program highlights talented students across the county for their accomplishments in the arts. 750 students representing 78 Orange County high schools were nominated, and 50 of them are from OCSA! Each of these students have proven their abilities in their areas of expertise. Here are the nominations for Dance:

Commercial Dance:
Danielle Silver (CMD, ‘22)
Dawson Charles Walker (CMD, ‘21)

Concert Dance:
Corah Abbott (CCD, ‘21)
Ian Francisco Roman (CCD, ‘22)

World/Cultural Dance:
Maya Elizabeth Alvarez-Coyne (CMD, ‘21)
Rodrigo Blanco (BF, ‘21)
Lucas McCollum-VanHoosear (BR, ‘22)
Rodrigo Francisco Rea (BF, ‘21)

The OCSA National History Day Club, founded by Anjal Jain (CV, ‘22), competed in the National History Day Orange County Competition. The students created historically accurate projects relating to the 2021 theme of “Communication: The Key to Understanding.” The following students became Orange County Champions and progressed to the State level.

Anjal Jain (CV, ‘22)
Sally Jang (CW, ‘23)
Jamie Jung (CW, ‘24)
Katie Kim (CW, ‘23)
Arianna Ramirez (BF, ‘26)
Annabel Reiher (CW, ‘23)
Selah Sanchez (CW, ‘23)
Emma Wei-Ten (PM, ‘23)

Other Club Participants
Ashley Hodge (IA, ‘23)
Anna Huang (CW, ‘24)
Lauren Kim (CW, ‘24)
Luke Stark (IA, ‘24)

The Orange County Register announced the semifinalists for the 8th Annual Artist of the Year Awards. The Artist of the Year program honors talented students across the county for their accomplishments in the arts.

Computer-Assisted Visual Arts:
Computer Drawing and Painting
Eden Haymond (DM, ‘21)
Ashley Yang (VA, ‘22)

Dance:
Commercial Dance
Danielle Silver (CMD, ‘22)
Dawson Charles Walker (CMD, ‘21)
Concert Dance
Corah Abbott (CCD, ‘21)
World and Cultural Dance
Maya Elizabeth Alvarez-Coyne (CMD, ‘21)
Rodrigo Blanco (BF, ‘21)
Lucas McCollum-VanHoosear (BR, ‘22)

Film and Animation:
Directing and Editing
Ethan Chu (FTV, ‘21)
Johann Ren Collantes (FTV, ‘21)
Nolan Frech (FTV, ‘21)

Handcrafted Visual Arts:
Hand Drawing and Painting
Joyce Lee (VA, ‘21)
Mixed Media
Junzhu Zhang (VA, ‘21)
Sculpting and Metalwork
Juhyun Park (VA, ‘21)

Instrumental Music:
Jazz
Gianna Pedregon (IM, ‘21) - Violin
Piano and Strings
Hannah Noh (IM, ‘21) - Piano

Theater:
Acting
Mia Kaplan (MT, ‘21)
Musical Theater Performance
Ava Kuntz (CV, ‘21)
Madison E. Osment (MT, ‘21)
Charlee Rubino (MT, ‘21)

Vocal Music:
Classical Voice
Ava Kuntz (CV, ‘21)
Commercial Voice
Michele Lu (PM, ‘21)

Sage Gonzales Lambert (BF, '21) competed in the Latin Mirage Ultimate Soloist Competition and received first place in both the Ballet Folklórico (Sinaloa) and International Samba categories, and second place in the Ballet Folklórico (Campeche) category. She also received a special award for producer's choice and choreography.

McKayla Frances Mercado (BF, '22) was promoted to company dancer with LA’s premier folk ballet company Grandeza Mexicana Folk Ballet Company. McKayla was also selected to be part of the Dia de Muertos: Al Chile Tour with Grammy Award winner Lila Downs.

Bianca Lozano (BF, ‘21), Fatima Oregon (BF), and Sammy Perez (BF, ‘21) were a part of a team that helped inspire children through Mexican folk dancing at Garden Grove Methodist Church. They taught folklórico to more than 50 kids through their program, titled Sembrando Dahlias, which was made possible by funding from the Dragon Kim Foundation. To read more about their story, please visit: https://bit.ly/3uPS8Fl

Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) has been ranked by Niche as the #1 Best Charter High School in California for the third year in a row, as well as the #6 Best Charter High School in America for 2022! We would like to express our gratitude to all the students, teachers, and staff who continue to make OCSA an exceptional institution. To view all rankings for OCSA, please visit: https://bit.ly/3D8R02u

The following alumni were selected to perform in the return of Disney’s ¡Viva Navidad! at Disney California Adventure Park. This heartfelt street party celebrates both Mexican and Brazilian cultures through the characters of the famed movie "The Three Caballeros."

Jackie Alvarez (IM, ‘18)
Vivian Alvarez (BF, ‘19)
Dominique Breckenridge (BF, ‘16)
Iris Distancia (BF, ‘16)
Matthew De Leon (BF, ‘17)
Alyssa Gomez (BF, ‘17)
Michael Gomez (BF, ‘14)
Melina Marin (MT, ‘18)
Adrian Martinez (BF, ‘20)
Brianna Marquez BF, ‘18)
Madeline Peña (BF, ‘14)
Jose Rea (BF, ‘18)
Rodrigo Rea (BF, ‘21)
Jose Rivera (BF, ‘18)

The following students were recognized as 2022 YoungArts Winners by the National YoungArts Foundation for their artistic achievements. All YoungArts award winners at all levels receive cash prizes between $100 and $10,000. All YoungArts Finalists were also invited to participate in National YoungArts Week+, which features virtual classes and performances, workshops, mentorship opportunities, and an exhibition for the public.

Finalists:
Emmy Cheung (CMD, ‘22) – Dance (Modern/Contemporary)
Ethan Chu (FTV, ‘21) – Film
Youning Jiang (FTV, ‘22) – Film
Chaewon Kim (CW, ‘23) – Design Arts
Lauren Mei (ACT, ‘23) – Theater
Kailyn Yi (CMD, ‘22) – Dance (Modern/Contemporary)

Honorable Mentions:
Andy Choi (CW, ‘22) – Writing (Play or Script)
Johann Ren Collantes (FTV, ‘21) – Film
Amy Jong (IM, ‘24) – Classical Music (Violoncello)
Wyatt Layton (CW, ‘23) – Writing (Creative Nonfiction)

Merit:
Heather Kim (IM, ‘24) – Classical Music (Flute)
Ava Kuntz (CV, ‘21) – Voice (Classical)
Mia Lopez (BF, ‘23) – Dance (World Dance Forms: Mexican Folkloric)
London San Luis (DM, ‘23) – Visual Arts
Caitlyn Mason (CW, ‘23) – Writing (Creative Nonfiction)
Aidan Meixner (MT, ‘22) – Voice (Singer-Songwriter)
Ava Ulloa (PM, ‘22) – Voice (Popular: Pop)
Jocelyn Wang (PM, ‘23) – Voice (Singer-Songwriter)
Sein Yun (IM, ‘22) – Classical Music (Violin)
Helaine Zhao (IM, ‘24) – Classical Music (Piano)

In addition, Emmy Cheung (CMD, ‘22) and Youning Jiang (FTV, ‘22) attended National YoungArts Week+ as 2022 YoungArts Winners and were nominated to be named 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars in the Arts in Dance (Modern/Contemporary) and Film respectively. The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars will ultimately choose 20 of the 60 nominees to be recognized for their academic and artistic accomplishments, leadership, community outreach, and overall creativity.

Lana Sawalha, an OCSA history teacher, was offered the Lowell Milken Center for Unsung Heroes Fellowship in Scott, KS. The fellowship is awarded annually to educators who have distinguished themselves in teaching understanding and respect through project-based learning.

Orange County School of the Arts was featured in an article by KTLA about our recent Niche ranking as the #1 Best Charter High School in California for the third year in a row, as well as the #6 Best Charter High School in America for 2022. To read the full article, please visit: https://bit.ly/3Iy3N1k

Elective and Conservatory Instructor Cameron Shim received his Level 1 Teaching Certification for Aerial Silks from Aerial Physique.

The OCSA Robotics Team qualified for the 2022 Southern California VRC High School State Championship held at Damien High School, where they will compete for a chance to go to the 2022 VEX Robotics World Championship in Dallas, Texas.

The Orange County Register announced the nominees for the 9th Annual Artist of the Year Awards. This program highlights talented students across the county for their accomplishments in the arts. Each of these students has proven their abilities in their areas of expertise.

Computer-Assisted Visual Arts:

Computer Drawing and Painting
Sofia De Luna (DM, ‘22)
Juliana Jarvis (DM, ‘22)
Elise Maniquis-Dormitorio (DM, ‘22)
Hannah Miller (DM, ‘22)
Megan Mo (DM, ‘22)

Graphic Design and Digital Illustration
Josh Nguyen (FTV, ‘22)

Photography (Film and Digital)
Soren Almeida (FTV, ‘22)

Dance:

Commercial Dance
Danielle Silver (CMD, ‘22)
Reagan Vallejo (IA, ‘22)

Concert Dance
Emmy Cheung (CMD, ‘22)
Nicole Frias Lugo (BCD, ‘22)
Alisa Nguyen (BCD, ‘23)
Amelie Jolie Vidrio (BCD, ‘22)

World/Cultural Dance
Hannah Ayala (BR, ‘23)
Mia Amaris Lopez (BF, ‘23)
Joshua Qin (BD, ‘23)
Hana Uehara (BR, ‘23)

The Orange County Register announced the winners, finalists, and semifinalists for the 8th Annual Artist of the Year Awards, and OCSA had five winners out of seven arts categories this year! The Artist of the Year program honors talented students across the county for their accomplishments in the arts.

Finalists:
Computer-Assisted Visual Arts:
Computer Drawing and Painting
Juliana Jarvis (DM, ‘22)

Handcrafted Visual Arts:
Hand Drawing and Painting
Grace Jo (VA, ‘22)

Mixed Media
Hannah Kang (VA, ‘22)

Dance:
World/Cultural Dance
Mia Amaris Lopez (BF, ‘23)

Theater:
Acting
Sophia Madrigal (ACT, ‘22)

Musical Theater Performance
Brooklyn Vizcarra (MT, ‘22)

Vocal Music:
Classical Voice
Evan Richards (CV, ‘22)

Semifinalists:
Computer-Assisted Visual Arts:

Computer Drawing and Painting
Elise Maniquis-Dormitorio (DM, ‘22)
Hannah Miller (DM, ‘22)

Graphic Design and Digital Illustration
Josh Nguyen (FTV, ‘22)

Photography (Film and Digital)
Soren Almeida (FTV, ‘22)

The Orange County Register announced the winners, finalists, semifinalists, and nominees for the 10th Annual Artist of the Year Awards. OCSA had two winners out of seven arts categories this year, as well as many finalists, semifinalists, and nominees! The Artist of the Year program honors talented students across the county for their accomplishments in the arts.

Semifinalists:

Dance

Commercial Dance
Michelle Cheng (CMD, ‘23)
Jonah Smith (CMD, ‘23)

Concert Dance
Courtney Chiu (BCD, ‘23)

Hip-Hop
Faith Aguilar (CMD, ‘23)
Edward Chen (IA, ‘24)

World/Cultural Dance
Mia Amaris Lopez (BF, ‘23)


Film and Television

Cinematography
Zen Sing Thai (FTV, ‘23)

Film Directing
Jordan Held (FTV, ‘23)

Promo/Commercial Making
Evan Padilla (FTV, ‘23)


Fine Arts

Drawing
Chelsea Lee (VA, ‘24)

Mixed Media
Alison Amber Lee (VA, ‘23)

Painting
London San Luis (DM, ‘23)
Cheungwan (Amy) Wang (VA, ‘23)
Melody Wu (VA, ‘24)


Instrumental Music

Jazz
Nathan Tatsuta (IM, ‘24) - Piano

Piano
Lucie Kim (IM, ‘24) - Piano

Winds and Percussion
Heather Kim (IM, ‘24) - Flute
Damian Paul (IM, ‘24) - Percussion


Media Arts

Digital Illustration
Ava Diaz (DM, ‘24)
Fatima Mai (VA, ‘24)

Game Art
Ethan Situ Leung (DM, ‘23)
Vicky H. Nguyen (DM, ‘23)

Motion Graphics and Animation
David Du (FTV, ‘24)


Theater

Acting
Ava DeVoe (ACT, ‘24)
Elora Sparnicht (CW, ‘23)

Vocal Music

Classical Voice
Mia Baron (CV, ‘23)
Lilliana Mindel (CV, ‘24)
Viveka Saravanan (CV, ‘23)

Cultural and Commercial Voice
Ella Gibson (PM, ‘23)

Musical Theater Voice
Sophia Ruiz (MT, ‘23)

The Orange County Register announced the winners, finalists, semifinalists, and nominees for the 10th Annual Artist of the Year Awards. OCSA had two winners out of seven arts categories this year, as well as many finalists, semifinalists, and nominees! The Artist of the Year program honors talented students across the county for their accomplishments in the arts.

Nominees:

Dance

Commercial Dance
Michelle Cheng (CMD, ‘23)
Jonah Smith (CMD, ‘23)

Concert Dance
Courtney Chiu (BCD, ‘23)
Aarilyn Lee (CMD, ‘23)
Daniella Morales (BCD, ‘24)
Alisa Nguyen (BCD, ‘23)

Hip-Hop
Faith Aguilar (CMD, ‘23)
Edward Chen (IA, ‘24)

World/Cultural Dance
Saira Galilea Arias (BF, ‘23)
Hannah Ayala (BR, ‘23)
Jude Caguioa Camaya (BR, ‘23)
Constantin Chekardzhikov (BR, ‘23)
Mia Amaris Lopez (BF, ‘23)
Aurelia Philmore (BR, ‘24)


Film and Television

Cinematography
Owen Thomas Blum (FTV, ‘23)
Zen Sing Thai (FTV, ‘23)

Film Directing
Dominic Gonzalez (FTV, ‘23)
Jordan Held (FTV, ‘23)

Promo/Commercial Making
Evan Padilla (FTV, ‘23)


Fine Arts

Drawing
Nina Alvarez (VA, ‘23)
Chelsea Lee (VA, ‘24)
Chili Sloop (VA, ‘24)

Mixed Media
Chloe Kim (VA, ‘23)
Alison Amber Lee (VA, ‘23)

Painting
Luke Furca (VA, ‘24)
London San Luis (DM, ‘23)
Cheungwan (Amy) Wang (VA, ‘23)
Melody Wu (VA, ‘24)


Instrumental Music

Jazz
Megan Etzel (IM, ‘23) - Piano
Trent Horio (IM, ‘23) - Tenor saxophone
Nathan Tatsuta (IM, ‘24) - Piano

Piano
Emilia Djordjevic (IM, ‘23) - Piano
Lucie Kim (IM, ‘24) - Piano

Winds and Percussion
Heather Kim (IM, ‘24) - Flute
Aidan Luu (IM, ‘23) - Alto Saxophone
Daniel Park O’Grady (IM, ‘24) - Clarinet
Damian Paul (IM, ‘24) - Percussion
Leo Sui (IM, ‘23) - Trombone

World/Cultural and Commercial Music
Savannah Tweedt (PM, ‘24) - Drum Set and Percussion


Media Arts

Digital Illustration
Ava Diaz (DM, ‘24)
Cindy (Tenna) Kuang (VA, ‘24)
Fatima Mai (VA, ‘24)
Olivia Sarno (DM, ‘23)
Mingxuan Wang (VA, ‘23)

Game Art
Rachel Kondo (DM, ‘24)
Ethan Situ Leung (DM, ‘23)
Vicky H. Nguyen (DM, ‘23)

Motion Graphics and Animation
David Du (FTV, ‘24)

Photography
Candace Ramirez (VA, ‘23)


Theater

Acting
Ava DeVoe (ACT, ‘24)
Elora Sparnicht (CW, ‘23)
Ethan Swartz (ACT, ‘23)

Musical Theater Performance
Alexa Núñez Magaña (MT, ‘23)
Sophie Russ (MT, ‘24)


Vocal Music

Classical Voice
Mia Baron (CV, ‘23)
Grace Huynh (CV, ‘23)
Lilliana Mindel (CV, ‘24)
Sebastian Nunez (CV, ‘24)
Viveka Saravanan (CV, ‘23)

Cultural and Commercial Voice
Ella Gibson (PM, ‘23)

Musical Theater Voice
Chloe Deutschman (MT, ‘24)
Clare Adelaide Murphy (IA, ‘23)
Sophia Ruiz (MT, ‘23)

The following students were recognized as grand prize finalists, semifinalists, and finalist award winners in The Music Center’s 34th Annual Spotlight Program. Spotlight is a nationally acclaimed arts training and scholarship program for teens that awards more than $100,000 in cash scholarships annually. Semifinalists have the opportunity to attend a special master class in their discipline with highly regarded artists who share their expertise on performance technique, training, and professional life. Each semifinalist then auditions once more, and the top two finalist performers in each category are selected for a total of 14 Grand Prize Finalists.

Grand Prize Finalists:

Classical Voice
Lilliana Mindel (CV, ‘24)

Semifinalists:

Ballet
Preston Walker (BCD, ‘26)

Dance
Sammi Chung (CMD, '24)
Ayanna Dowell (CMD, '23)
Andrea Martinez (BF, ‘25)
Mallory McKenna (CMD, '23)
Isabella Silva (IA, ‘26)

Classical Instrumental
Ariana Kim (IM, ‘25)
Calene Lee (CW, '25)

Jazz Instrumental
Ian Shin (IM, ‘24)
Nathan Tatsuta (IM, ‘24)

Non-Classical Voice
Joan Park (PM, ‘23)

Classical Voice
Grace Huynh (CV, ‘23)
Viveka Saravanan (CV, ‘24)

The following students were recognized as grand prize finalists, semifinalists, finalists, and merit award winners in The Music Center’s 34th Annual Spotlight Program. Spotlight is a nationally acclaimed arts training and scholarship program for teens that awards more than $100,000 in cash scholarships annually. Semifinalists have the opportunity to attend a special master class in their discipline with highly regarded artists who share their expertise on performance technique, training, and professional life. Each semifinalist then auditions once more, and the top two finalist performers in each category are selected for a total of 14 Grand Prize Finalists.

Merit Awards:

Dance
Annie Chen (CMD, ‘26)
Mia Lopez (BF, ‘23)

Classical Instrumental
Lucie Kim (IM, ‘24)
Minjae (Jaden) Kim (IM, ‘25)
Hannah Cho (IM, ‘25)

Jazz Instrumental
Allie Molin (IM, ‘25)

Classical Voice
Mia Baron (CV, ‘23)
Samara Kohne (CV, ‘24)
Lavinia Watkins (CV, ‘26)