Calendar

DANCE

CHANGING PLACES Choreographer Tere O'Connor brings his dance company to the Baryshnikov Arts Center for performances of "Rammed Earth." The program, which was first staged in New York last fall, requires attendees to move their perspectives throughout the evening as they are escorted to different areas within the performance space. As the audience moves, the dancers incorporate their shifting stage into the choreography. Through Sunday, 7 and 9 p.m., Baryshnikov Arts Center, Howard Gilman Performance Space, 450 W. 37th St., between Ninth and Tenth avenues, 212-279-4200, $20.

MAJESTIC NIGHTS Ballet NY marks its tenth year with a program of premieres by choreographers Andrew Blight and Thaddeus Davis. Mr. Blight's "Pro-Vine Pas de Deux" employs just five steps that are rearranged and reworked, and Mr. Davis's "Majestic Days and Fervent Nights" explores how the mood changes among a royal court as daylight gives way to dusk. The season-opening performances at the Joyce Theater also include repertory pieces by William Soleau and Lisa deRibere. The dance troupe, under the direction of Medhi Bahiri and Judith Fugate, blends modern dance, ballet, and steely physicality. Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday 2 and 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th Street, 212-242-0800, $19-$39.

FAMILY

TAKE A HIKE Staten Island is home to the city's greenbelt. Local educators lead a hike through the greenbelt and up the borough's Moses Mountain, where hikers learn about the plants and animals that live in the park, as well as the region's history and geology. The hill's peak offers 360-degree views of the park and surrounding area. Registration is required, and comfortable shoes are recommended. The group meets at the Nevada Avenue parking lot. Saturday, 11 a.m., Staten Island Greenbelt, Blood Root Valley, High Rock Park, 200 Nevada Ave. at Rockland Avenue, Staten Island, 718-351-3450, free.

DUCK DUCK GOOSE Storytellers Laura Bobrow and Rolf Stang re-create the Hans Christian Andersen classics "The Nightingale" and "The Ugly Duckling." The tales are followed by a "Ducklings Party," which includes duck-themed games and activities. The stories are suitable for children 6 and older. Saturday, 11 a.m.-noon, Central Park, Pilgrim Hill and Conservatory Water, under the statue of Hans Christian Andersen, enter at 72nd Street and Fifth Avenue, 212-929-6871, free.

MUSIC

LULLABY Folk singers Dar Williams and Shawn Mullins give a joint concert at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza. Ms. Williams, who hails from Chappaqua and who rose from the Northeast coffeehouse circuit to the national stage in the early 1990s, performs songs from her latest release "Promised Land" (2008). Georgia native Mr. Mullins, perhaps best known for his 1998 folk rock ballad "Lullaby," sings tracks from his new album, "Honeydew" (2008). Saturday, 8 p.m., Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place at 15th Street, 212-777-6800, $25.

OPERA

SEDUCTION GONE AWRY The Amato Opera Theater presents Mozart's "Così fan Tutte." The comedic tale, set in 18th-century Naples, follows two men as they test the loyalty of their fiancées by attempting to seduce each other's bride-to-be. The theater has made its name providing a platform for established and emerging artists to perform traditional opera. Director Anthony Amato leads the six-person cast in English-translated performances at its East Village theater. Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Sunday, 2:30 p.m., Amato Opera Theater, 319 Bowery at 2nd Street, 212-228-8200, $35 general, $30 seniors and children under 12.

READINGS

SWEET LO "Lolita in America" is a conference designed to analyze the influence that Vladimir Nabokov's "Lolita" has had in this country 50 years after its publication here. Following the book's first publication in Paris in 1955, it was rejected for three years by American editors who believed its content was too salacious for print. Panelists include writer Ellen Pifer, author of "Vladimir Nabokov's Lolita: A Casebook" (Oxford); a literary contributor to Le Monde, Lila Zanganeh, and Nabokov's editor through the last decade of his life, Fred Hills. A screening of Stanley Kubrick's 1962 film adaptation concludes the symposium. Advance registration is required. Friday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m., Tishman Auditorium, Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall, 66 W. 12th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-229-5630, free. RSVP required to lolitaconference@newschool.edu.

THEATER

SHORT TAKES "Prelude '08" offers sneak peeks of downtown theater productions for the 2008-09 season, featuring more than 20 short performances, open rehearsals, and readings from works-in-progress. On Saturday, a panel discussion from 3-4 p.m. titled "realist (little r) Theater: Constructing and Reconstructing Time in Contemporary Performance Practice," is moderated by a director at Emerging Artists Theater, Morgan von Prelle Pecelli. The talk features the founder of Radiohole, Eric Dyer; playwright Richard Foreman; director Jay Schieb; the artistic director of Performance Space 122, Vallejo Gantner, and the principal director of ARTS Action Research, Nello McDaniel. Friday, 4:30-10 p.m., Saturday, 3-9:30 p.m., Martin E. Segal Theatre, CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Ave. at 35th Street, 212-817-1860, free. For complete information, go to preludenyc.org.

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