FESTIVAL 2000 HIGHLIGHTS

From Saturday through Oct. 8, more than 200 performances and 50 attractions will be presented at 30 locations around the city. Screenings, exhibits and interdisciplinary performances involving 1,000 performing and visual artists crowd the schedule. The expected highlights include:

“Praise House,” a new piece by the New York dance-theater company Urban Bush Women drawn from the life of the rural Southern folk artist Minnie Evans. At Theater Artaud, Oct. 10-14.

“Body Tjak,” a blending of Balinese dance and American “body music,” created by Keith Terry and I. Wayan Dibla for a 24-member ensemble of artists from Bali and the U.S. At Cowell Theatre, Oct. 17-20. (Coming to UCLA Nov. 17.)

The California premiere of “Gospel at Colonus,” the acclaimed musical-theater piece by Lee Breuer and Bob Telson, produced by American Conservatory Theatre and the Oakland Ensemble Theatre, with Roscoe Lee Brown and Clarence Fountain and the Five Blind Boys of Alabama. At Golden Gate Theatre, Oct. 20-Nov. 18.

“Ballad of the Bones,” an investigation of African-American and Asian identity through the storytelling and musical blendings of Mark Izu, Brenda Wong-Aoki, John O’Neal and Michael Keck. At Cowell Theatre, Oct. 10-14.

“Norte/Sur,” a museum installation and performance piece about demographic transformation of the continent by artists Guillermo Gomez-Pena and Coco Fusco, Mexican Museum, Oct. 18-19.

“Bringing It All Back Home,” an evening of gospel, jazz and fusion music, with the Grammy Award a cappela group Take 6, drummer Max Roach, poets Sonia Sanchez and Gerry Lim, and Bobby McFerrin’s Voicestra chorus. At Louise M. Davies Hall, Oct. 14.

Festival 2000 runs at various locations in San Francisco Oct. 6-28. For information and a schedule of events, call (415) 255-2665. Tickets are available by calling (415) 762-BASS.