THREE-DAY FORECAST

DANCE

Rara avis on its toes

Don’t expect toe shoes and lyric elegance in the Cullberg Ballet version of “Swan Lake.” Founded in 1967, this groundbreaking Swedish ensemble’s barefoot, bald, contorted and irrepressibly twitchy retelling of classical ballet’s enduring swan fable won’t endear the company to traditionalists. Those with a taste for adventure, however, will find Mats Ek’s idiosyncratic choreography and bold reworking of the plot infinitely livelier than many conventional versions. With its coed swan corps, startling detours from the familiar Tchaikovsky score (including a Jewish dance) and highly individual perspective on the search for a pure, ideal mate, this is one production every “Swan” collector will remember.

Cullberg Ballet in “Swan Lake,” Royce Hall, UCLA campus, Westwood. Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m. $15 (students) to $45. (310) 825-2101.

MOVIES

He’s no hero

Paul Schrader has inflicted on us some fairly twisted individuals in the films he has written and/or directed, including “Taxi Driver,” “Mishima” and “Affliction.” But in some ways, they are no match for the Bob Crane of “Auto Focus.” The life of the former “Hogan’s Heroes” star, played by Greg Kinnear, begins with squeaky-clean temperance but deteriorates into the dual depravity of homemade porn and dinner theater.

“Auto Focus,” rated R for strong sexuality, nudity, language, some drug use and violence, opens Friday in selected theaters.

EVENTS

Gathering of crafty types

Pasadena Heritage will stage its 11th annual Craftsman Weekend, the largest and most comprehensive celebration of the Craftsman movement in the Western U.S. Festivities include a tour of six significant Craftsman-style houses, plus exhibits by antique dealers specializing in the Arts and Crafts movement, modern craftsmen working in the period style, restoration workshops, lectures by prominent Craftsman movement experts and special evening events at historic sites.

2002 Craftsman Weekend, call Pasadena Heritage for complete schedule or go to www.pasadenaheritage.org. Private house tours are scheduled Sunday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. $30 to $35. (626) 441-6333.

MUSIC

In interim digs

The Thornton Symphony, playing this fall at the downtown Orpheum Theater during the refurbishing of its home at USC’s Bovard Auditorium, offers a second concert under the direction of Sergiu Comissiona. The program lists Rimsky-Korsakov’s popular and colorful suite, “Scheherazade,” Stephen Hartke’s “The Ascent of the Equestrian in a Balloon” and Carl Maria von Weber’s delicious Second Clarinet Concerto, with soloist Lucy Chuang.

Thornton Symphony, Orpheum Theater, 842 S. Broadway, L.A., Friday, 8 p.m. $12 to $18. (213) 740-2584.

THEATER

A ‘Major’ celebration

Launching the opening of South Coast Repertory’s new Folino Theatre Center, George Bernard Shaw’s “Major Barbara” will be presented on the Segerstrom Stage, the former main stage that has been extensively renovated. Shaw’s comedy about an arms manufacturer in a battle of wits with his eldest daughter, who’s appalled by his “munitions over morals” philosophy, stars Dakin Matthews, Nike Doukas and Kandis Chappell. It’s directed by Martin Benson, SCR’s artistic director.

“Major Barbara,” South Coast Repertory Theatre, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. Opens Friday. Runs Tuesdays-Fridays, 8 p.m.; Saturdays, 2:30 and 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Ends Nov. 17. $27 to $54. (714) 708-5555.

EVENTS

We brake for cars

California and cars. They just seem to go together. This weekend the California International Auto Show in Anaheim will feature hundreds of vehicles from the major manufacturers plus concept cars, racing cars, experimental cars, vintage cars, demonstrations, an exotic car display of Maseratis, Ferraris, Bentleys and Lamborghinis and other makes -- even the Batmobile. Sunday will be Kids Day, children 12 and younger will be admitted free and Spiderman will be on hand to sign autographs.

California International Auto Show, Anaheim Convention Center, 800 W. Katella Ave., Anaheim, Thursday and Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-10 p.m.; Sunday, 9 a.m.-7 p.m. $4 to $9, children 6 and under free. (714) 765-8950.

ART

Art on the walls

Along with Diego Rivera and Jose Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros is known as one of the Big Three leaders of the Mexican mural movement. He was also a committed revolutionary and communist, an artist who believed that his murals should further the struggle of the people. Expelled from Mexico in 1932 for political activity, Siqueiros settled in Los Angeles briefly, completing three murals during his stay. The first was gone a year after it appeared. The second was whitewashed by shocked civic boosters. The last mural has been moved from Pacific Palisades to the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, where it was restored. The unveiling will be Sunday.

David Alfaro Siqueiros’ “Portrait of Mexico Today (1932)” will be unveiled at a ceremony Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara. Museum hours: Tuesdays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. (Fridays until 9 p.m.); Sundays, noon-5 p.m. $7; seniors, $5; students, $4; children 6 to 17, $4; children under 6, free. (805) 963-4364.

POP MUSIC

The sounds of steroids

An evening of far-flung sounds is in store with Steroid Maximus, an alter ego of musician-producer-remixer J.G. Thirwell, a.k.a. Foetus. As Steroid Maximus, Thirwell will offer the world premiere of his new album, “Ectopia,” tonight at the Knitting Factory. Thirwell will have the help of a 19-piece band that includes X drummer DJ Bonebrake and jazz-experimental guitarist Nels Cline and is led by former Lounge Lizards musical director Steve Bernstein.

Steroid Maximus, Knitting Factory, 7020 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Thursday, 7:30 p.m. $35. (310) 825-2101.

MOVIES

A Sunday forever stained

To the strains of U2 and in memory of those who died, Paul Greengrass wrote and directed “Bloody Sunday,” a chronicle of the events of Jan. 30, 1972, when 27 civilians were shot by the British army during a peaceful march. The repercussions have fueled “the troubles” in Northern Ireland. The drama, featuring James Nesbitt, Tim-Pigott Smith, Nicholas Farrell and Gerald McSorley, is based on Don Mullan’s book, “Eyewitness Bloody Sunday.”

“Bloody Sunday,” rated R for violence and language, opens Friday in selected theaters.