NINE CULTURAL CAPITALS NAMED.

HELSINKI--Most millennial discussions focus on potential computer crises, but Europe is celebrating the new year by designating nine cultural capitals. Hilde Teuchies, general secretary for the EU's Cities of Culture, says, "It's nothing more than a label, but it's a high-profile label."

For cities that want to stimulate artistic exploration and support, the cultural capital status can inspire festivals and increase tourism and funding. "It can be an accelerator for change," says Ondrej Hrab, from Prague's Archa Theatre. Helsinki, Prague, Avignon, Bergen, Bologna, Brussels, Krakow, Reykjavik, and Santiago de Compostela will acquire the title. As part of its heightened cultural awareness, Bologna has invited New York-based choreographer Bill T. Jones to present the European premiere of Oh? You Walk? in April 2000. Jones's company begins workshops in the Italian city this month.

Helsinki began planning for its year as a cultural capital last April, when 500 international presenters and critics attended the twentieth annual Informal European Theatre Meeting (IETM). Alongside IETM sessions and workshops, the Finnish Dance Festival offered glimpses of local choreography. Over the years, IETM meetings have become an important place for presenters to discuss and program their performance seasons. By scheduling the festival together with IETM events, performances "provided a possibility to present Finnish theater and dance to a wide audience," explains organizer Jan-Peter Kaiku. "For dance this was the first kind of select showing and gathering of existing works for a common agenda."

Highlights included works by Tero Saarinen and Sylvie Guillem's choreography for the Finnish National Ballet. Dancemaker Arja Raatikainen provided an exquisite blend of movement and light design in her Comments at Stoa, The Cultural Center of Eastern Helsinki.

Venues like Stoa played an integral role in the choreographers' work: during Raatikainen's intermission, pale marley was rolled from the stage to the auditorium, transforming the space into a white room. The Alexander Theatre, a century-old opera house, complemented Saarinen's regal performance of a solo by Carolyn Carlson. The National Opera, current home for the ballet, is a breathtaking modern building overlooking Toolonlahti Bay.