ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT REPORTS FROM THE TIMES, NEWS SERVICES AND THE NATION’S PRESS.

DANCE

Princess Di Ballet Due to Premiere in Denmark

Denmark’s Peter Schaufuss Ballet has announced plans for a show based on the life of the late Princess Diana, who died in a Paris car wreck in 1997.

The premiere of “Diana--the Princess” is scheduled for Sept. 14 in the Danish city of Aarhus, 125 miles northwest of Copenhagen. According to BBC News, British ballerina Zara Deakin will play the role of the princess. Schaufuss is hoping to get a U.K. pop group to provide the music for the show, which is scheduled to tour the Scandinavian country in the fall.

Schaufuss was one of the most celebrated figures on the world ballet scene in the 1970s and 1980s--dancing at the New York City Ballet, the Bolshoi in Moscow and the Kirov in St. Petersburg, as well as in London and Paris. He also was the artistic director of the English National Ballet (of which Princess Diana was a patron), the Berlin Ballet and the Royal Danish Ballet, staging unconventional interpretations of classics.

The Peter Schaufuss Ballet, created in 1997, also has performed original works inspired by the music of Elvis Presley and the Beatles. The Princess Di ballet follows musicals and operas based on her life in Germany and New York.

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RADIO

KFI Apologizes for ‘Error in Judgment’

Talk-radio station KFI-AM (640) apologized to the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department for playing Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” before the 6 a.m. news on Wednesday and Thursday.

A technical assistant played a snippet of the song, prompting station officials to inform Sheriff Lee Baca of the mistake and issue several on-air mea culpas.

Baca said the tune was in poor taste at a time when the department is mourning the death of Deputy David March, who was gunned down during a Monday-morning traffic stop in Irwindale.

“I was outraged to learn of the inappropriate and insensitive music selection ...” Baca said. “I have accepted their apology on behalf of the Sheriff’s Department and laud them on their efforts to correct this error. Let us now put this incident behind us.”

KFI marketing director Bill Lewis called the incident “an error in judgment” and “an inadvertent mistake.” In all, he said, less than 10 seconds of the tune was aired.

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POP/ROCK

Haggard Halts Auction of Work in Progress

An Internet auction of a Merle Haggard cassette has been halted after the country music star won a court order claiming the tape was stolen from his tour bus. The object was removed from the EBay site on Wednesday.

Kathy Schroeder, a concert promoter and bed-and-breakfast operator, had offered the cassette for sale on EBay for $325,000, the Dallas Morning News reported. Haggard’s lawyers say they plan to turn the case over to law enforcement for prosecution on theft or other charges, but the first priority is preventing the spread of bootleg copies.

“The reason I am pursuing it is because this is obviously the nightmare we all fear,” Haggard told the newspaper. “I had to defend myself. What’s on the tape is a rough mix of an ongoing project. It’s like she kidnapped my children.”

Schroeder’s attorney said he couldn’t comment because he hadn’t seen a copy of the order.

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TLC’s Lopes Laid to Rest Before Thousands

Thousands of fans, U.S. music industry notables and relatives gathered in suburban Atlanta Thursday to bid farewell to Grammy-winning R&B; singer Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, remembered as a creative musician who gave generously to family and friends.

Lopes, a member of the trio TLC, died last week in Honduras when a sport utility vehicle she was driving overturned.

A capacity crowd of about 10,000 people filled New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia and hundreds more waited outside during the 30-year-old singer’s funeral. A host of music industry stars attended, including producer Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds, and singers Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Keith Sweat.

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TELEVISION

‘Breaking News’ Finds a Home at Bravo

Nearly a year after TNT pulled the plug on the dramatic series “Breaking News,” the Bravo network has acquired rights to the show, with plans to begin airing it in mid-July.

TNT completed 13 episodes of the program--which focuses on a fictional all-news television network--at a cost of roughly $20 million before deciding last June not to televise any of the episodes. Since then, the producers have been seeking a home for the program.

TNT delayed the show’s premiere several times before opting to scuttle it entirely, saying the channel’s resources would be better spent elsewhere.

“Breaking News” features an ensemble cast that includes Tim Matheson, Clancy Brown, Lisa Ann Walter and Scott Bairstow.

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QUICK TAKES

MTV has rescheduled its Video Music Awards out of respect for the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The ceremony, which usually takes place the first Thursday in September, has been moved up to Aug. 29, when it will air live from Radio City Music Hall in New York.... Outfest’s second annual Screen Idol Awards, honoring movie and TV performances in gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered roles, go to “Mulholland Drive’s” Naomi Watts (best actress) and “Hedwig and the Angry Inch’s” John Cameron Mitchell (best actor).... CBS has set May 17 as the last day for Bryant Gumbel to host “The Early Show.” “Hollywood Squares” host Tom Bergeron is scheduled to fill in for him the following week.... Kansas City Symphony music director Anne Hanson, one of the few women to head a sizable American orchestra, will be stepping down after June 2003 to spend more time conducting in Europe.