NEWS LITE : NAMES IN THE NEWS CHELSEA MAKES FINAL CURTAIN CALL.

Chelsea Clinton gave her final performance for her ballet school, pirouetting and prancing elegantly on stage as the president and Hillary Rodham Clinton beamed from their seats in the middle of the theater Thursday night. Chelsea, 17, has taken dance classes at the Washington School of Ballet for four years. And her final curtain comes before she's sent packing for Stanford. Chelsea danced to music from Vivaldi and in two other numbers, ``Praying for Rain,'' and ``Midsummer Frolics,'' which closed the two-hour show.

Prince Charles plans wingding for Camilla

Prince Charles is planning a swanky 50th birthday party in July for girlfriend Camilla Parker-Bowles. The black-tie festivities for 150 guests at Highgrove, the prince's estate, would cost about, oh, 80 grand. He has ordered up the best champagnes and vintage wines to accompany the din-din, and is planning surprise entertainment. The Brits are known for being civilized about these things; so it comes as no surprise that the guest list will include Parker-Bowles' former husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, and his new wife, Rosemary.

The Donald lonely? He'll have himself

Now that The Donald is practically single again - that divorce decree is a mere formality - inquiring minds want to know, won't he be awfully lonely when he moves into his spacey bachelor pad? ``No. I always have myself. . . . Isn't that terrible?'' Trump said in USA Today. But really, who's the lucky female he'll be squiring around town now that Marla Maples is history? ``Ha! That's going to be the big question now . . . unfortunately.''

Cannes top award leaves politics aside

Isabelle Adjani, who headed this year's Cannes Film Festival jury, insists the panel awarded its top prize - the Golden Palm - to ``great films, not good causes.''

Many of the winning films or their directors had some link to political or social issues, but there was nothing politically correct about the decisions, Adjani told Le Monde in a story published Thursday.

``Simply, the majority of the most interesting filmmakers are the ones confronted with difficult situations,'' Adjani said. ``Their creativity blows a hole in the wall and lets in the light. When the film works, you have to act.''

This year's Golden Palms went to Japanese director Shohei Imamura for ``Unagi'' (``The Eel'') and Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami for ``The Taste of Cherry,'' both films dealing with suicide. Kiarostami had trouble getting the film to Cannes because of Iranian censors.

Jurors included American novelist Paul Auster, Chinese actress Gong Li, American director Tim Burton, British director Mike Leigh and Canadian writer Michael Ondaatje.

Kesey sells cabin that met '60s `acid test'

Author Ken Kesey has sold the rustic log cabin that served as the lively epicenter for a generation of hippies, beatniks, Hells Angels and artists.

The La Honda, Calif., cabin was made famous in 1960s literature and lore as the focal point for his band of Merry Pranksters.

The house became a focal point for the backwoods mountain hippies of the era, said neighbor Jim Warren of Kings Mountain. The cabin was featured in Tom Wolfe's book, ``The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test,'' and other works chronicling the antics of Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.

``I remember, after Kesey got busted the first time, they put out a yellow and black roadside marker that read, `No Left Turn Unstoned.' It was really a great, funky place,'' Warren said.

He also recalled that the enormous glass punch bowl, just inside the front door, was ``filled with pharmaceuticals of all colors, shapes and sizes.''

Parked in front of the house was the famous school bus the Pranksters used for excursions to the Haight-Ashbury district, Berkeley and points beyond. The bus was equipped with an amplification and public address system so the occupants could broadcast to other motorists while they traveled.

Poll shows U.S. knows

sport stars

In a poll, eight out of 10 Americans could identify Tiger Woods or Dennis Rodman.

Not even one in 10 could identify the names Ralph Reed or Louis Freeh, showing anew that people follow sports more than politics and government.

The poll was conducted last week by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, which asked whether those surveyed could identify names from a list of prominent figures from athletics and government.

Eighty-two percent knew Woods, the hot new golfing phenom, and 80 percent could identify the Chicago Bulls' Rodman. Only 9 percent knew Reed, executive director of the Christian Coalition, and 8 percent knew FBI Director Freeh.

Other recognition quotients:

Ellen DeGeneres, actress who came out as a lesbian on prime-time television, 62 percent.

Alan Greenspan, as chairman of the Federal Reserve said to be the second most powerful person in government, 40 percent.

John Huang, central figure in the investigation into the Democrats' fund-raising practices, 20 percent.

Kenneth Starr, independent counsel investigating President Clinton, 20 percent.

Garry Kasparov, Russian chess champion recently beaten by a computer, 18 percent.

Trent Lott, Senate majority leader, 15 percent.

Webster Hubbell, potential key witness in Starr's investigation, 15 percent.

Tony Blair, the new British prime minister, 15 percent.

The poll, of 615 adults, had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 percentage points.

CAPTION(S):

2 Photos

Photo: (1) TRUMP

(2) First brush with Blue

Kaylee Simmons, 4, of Garden Grove takes in her first Dodger game Friday, seeing the Dodgers lose to Atlanta 4-2. The Dodgers will host the Braves today and Florida on Monday and Tuesday.

David Sprague/Daily News