VIDALIA, La. &045; Who knew the alphabet could become a show-stopping musical genre.

The audience was standing to leave and the emcee had said farewell, but 5-year-old Rhiannon Clifton still had a performance to give.

With a little prompting from her preschool teacher, Clifton, who came to the Vidalia High School arts event merely as a spectator, shuffled behind the stage on her own to take over the microphone for a stirring rendition of the ABC song.

Clifton said afterwards that she’d never really performed in front of that many people before, but wasn’t too nervous.

Mom Pride Clifton said she wasn’t really surprised to see her daughter’s stage presence.

&uot;She performs all the time in front of us,&uot; mom said.

But grandmother Virginia Clifton said Rhiannon surprised her because she can be shy at times.

Though the highlight of the night came from a preschooler, the high school event, &uot;An evening with the arts,&uot; is an annual program aimed at showing students possible careers in the arts.

&uot;This is one of the ways we at Vidalia High School allow our students to showcase talents other than sports,&uot; coordinator Dorothy Marsalis said.

Junior Emily Ledford opened the night by singing &uot;At Last.&uot; Performing for a crowd is nothing new, though, Ledford said.

&uot;I’ve done it all my life,&uot; she said. &uot;At church dad would ask me if I wanted to sing ‘Jesus Loves Me.’&uot;

Ledford, whose mother also performed Thursday night, said music is just a hobby for her though, not a career.

&uot;I think it’s too hard to do as a profession,&uot; said Ledford, whose older brother is a music major.

Other performances included the VHS cheerleaders and a rapping student and a song from Assistant Principal Jana Lincecum.

&uot;This showcases our students,&uot; she said. &uot;We let them get used to getting up in front of people, and

we show them the microphone is your friend. It’s good for the kids to say ‘I have talent.’&uot;