Celine in the Swing

By Stephen M. Silverman

10/09/1998 at 12:00 AM EDT

Celine Dion, 31, broke her self-enforced two-year retirement rule and performed five songs at California's Palm Springs Convention Center Wednesday night. It was part of the LPGA Nabisco Championship tournament, where she and hubby Rene Angelil got into the swing of things by playing golf earlier in the day. "I'm nervous. I haven't trained," Dion told the 1,000-strong crowd before singing a "duet" with Frank Sinatra. (His voice was recorded.) The song was "All the Way." Speaking of all the way, Dion has cut her hair all the way off and dyed it honey blonde. "It's for fun," she told PEOPLE. "It's easy to go to the pool, to golf." The deed was done by L.A. hairstylist Sheila Stotts, who, reports PEOPLE, saved the snippings. Says Stotts of Celine's new look: "It's a newfound freedom for her."