ART

TANGO ARGENTINE Adriana Groisman has spent more than 15 years photographing tango dancers who gather in milongas, smoky ballrooms in Buenos Aires. “Milongueros tend to speak very little,” she says. “Even if they have been dancing with each other for years, they never ask each other’s last names, addresses, or professions.” Her photographs, which are collected in the book “Tango, Never Before Midnight” (Ediciones Lariviere), are on view at Leica Gallery. Through Saturday, April 2, Tuesday-Saturday, noon-6 p.m., Leica Gallery, 670 Broadway at Bond Street, 212-777-3051, free.

GOODBYE, GATES “The Gates” are gone – almost. The installations near the Metropolitan Museum of Art won’t be disassembled until later this week, so the museum is keeping open its rooftop garden until the bitter end. So far, more than 300,000 people have visited the museum since “The Gates” were put up, more than twice the average number of visitors for that period. The garden will be open during regular museum hours, weather permitting, and will close when “The Gates” have departed. Tuesday-Sunday, 9:30 a.m.-5:15 p.m., Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street, 212-535-7710, $15 general, $10 seniors, $7 students, free for children under 12 and members.

BENEFITS

POP PARTY Guests at a benefit for the AIDS education group Love Heals are encouraged to dress up as Andy Warhol or Edie Sedgwick. The “50 Fabulous Females” event, dubbed “A Night at Andy Warhol’s Factory,” is hosted by Marisa Berenson, Baby Jane Holzer, Diane von Furstenberg, Wendy Frank, Celerie Kemble, Kristina Stewart, and others. Tonight, 8:30-11:30 p.m., NA, 246 W. 14th St., 212-529-7935, $150 in advance, $200 at the door.

CHORALE CORRAL The centerpiece of the Collegiate Chorale’s gala benefit concert is a performance of “Fidelio” starring Deborah Voigt. The black-tie event begins with cocktails and dinner at the Pierre, followed by the performance at Carnegie Hall. Tomorrow, 5:30 p.m. cocktails and dinner, the Pierre Hotel Cotillion Room, 8 p.m. performance, Carnegie Hall, 57th Street and Seventh Avenue, 917-322-2140, $1,000-$2,500. Note: Transportation is provided to Carnegie Hall from the Pierre.

BOOKS

SILENT LAUGHTER Dave King discusses his novel “The Ha-Ha” (Little, Brown) with his former teacher, author Michael Cunningham. The novel is told from the perspective of a Vietnam War veteran whose injuries have made him mute. Tonight, 7 p.m., Housing Works Used Book Cafe, 126 Crosby St., between Houston and Prince streets, 212-334-3324, free, used book donations encouraged.

IRISH IRE T. J. English reads from “Paddy Whacked” (ReganBooks), his 200-year chronicle of Irish-American mob activity. Tonight, 8:00 p.m., Rocky Sullivan’s Pub, 129 Lexington Ave. at 28th Street, 212-725-3871, free.

DANCE

SPICY SALSA Before a dance demonstration and concert by Frankie Figueroa & His Orchestra, professional salsa dancers teach a few steps to those with two left feet. Tonight, 6:30-7 p.m. dance lesson, 7 p.m. show and public dancing, World Financial Center Winter Garden, 220 Vesey St. at West Side Highway, free.

MUSIC

STARRY JAZZ Jazz lovers can enjoy live music, tapas, and wine under the stars at the American Museum of Natural History’s Rose Center for Earth and Space. Salsa drummer Ray Mantilla and his band, the aptly named New Space Station, are the next performers in the series. Friday, 5:30-6:30 p.m. and 7-8 p.m., American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, 212-769-5100, $12 general, $9 students and seniors, $7 children.

LIONESS IN WINTER Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, performs a solo set in Brooklyn. Tuesday, 7 p.m., Southpaw, 125 Fifth Ave., between St. Johns and Sterling places, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-230-0236, $17.50.

REASON TO BELIEVE A seven-concert series benefiting Wall Street Rising kicks off with a performance by Rod Stewart. Tickets are sold only for the entire series and by table, so attendance is pricy, but the lineup is impressive: Upcoming performers include Sheryl Crow (April 26), Alicia Keys (June 23), and Stevie Wonder (September 15). Wall Street Rising supports cultural life and business investment in Lower Manhattan. First concert: Tuesday, March 15, 7 p.m. cocktails, 8 p.m. dinner, 9 p.m. performance, Cipriani, 55 Wall St., between William and Hanover streets, 646-723-0898, $100,000-$125,000.

TALKS

HOLY WOMEN Professor Jane Tylus lectures about “Marvelous Words and Holy Women in Late Medieval Italy,” focusing on Dante and female saints in Tuscany and Umbria. Tomorrow, 6 p.m., NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimo, 24 W. 12th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-998-8730, free.

WAR AND PEACE The author of “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning” (Anchor), Chris Hedges, moderates a discussion sponsored by the Nation magazine about America at war during the “nuclear age.” The panelists are the author of “The Fate of the Earth” (Stanford University), Jonathan Schell, and “Fire in the Lake” (Back Bay), Frances FitzGerald. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m. doors open, 7 p.m. talk, no guaranteed seating after 6:50 p.m., New School, Lang Center, 55 W. 13th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, 212-209-5400 ext. 5462 for information, 866-468-7619 for tickets, $10 general, free for students, reservations strongly suggested.

STADIUM SEATING The president of the New York Jets, Jay Cross, discusses the proposed New York Sports and Convention Center that the Jets hope to build on Manhattan’s West Side. His talk, which is part of the Center for New York City Law’s breakfast series, is followed by a question-and-answer session. Friday, 8:15 a.m., New York Law School, Stiefel Reading Room, 47 Worth St., between Church Street and West Broadway, 212-431-2115, free, reservations requested.

THEATER

HARD WORK French playwright Jean-Claude Grumberg’s “The Workroom,” set in Paris during the years after World War II, depicts eight war survivors attempting to repair their lives. Moni Yakim directs the Unbound Theatre production. Through Saturday, March 12, Wednesday-Saturday, 8 p.m., matinees at 3 p.m. on March 5 and 12, Manhattan Theatre Source, 177 MacDougal St., between Waverly Place and 8th Street, 212-868-4444, $15.

CLOWNING AROUND The Undermain Theatre in Dallas brings a production of Jeffrey M. Jones’s “A Man’s Best Friend” to New York. The play follows a clown gone bad – Sluggo smells terrible, kicks his dog, and picks on his little brother. He also receives a baby from Andy Warhol and battles a squid. Tom Lenaghen stars as the demented clown and Bruce DuBose plays Warhol, Sluggo’s mother, and other characters. Katherine Owens directs. Through Saturday, March 19, Wednesday-Saturday, 7:30 p.m., Walkerspace, 46 Walker St., between Broadway and Church Street, 212-352-3101, $15.

WORKSHOP

PEN TO PAPER The American journalist Shana Alexander once wrote that “Letters are expectation packaged in an envelope.” A cozy Brooklyn bookstore concurs, inviting visitors to break free from e-mail at a bi-weekly letter-writing session that kicks off tonight. They’ll provide the pens, paper, and envelopes. Stamps are available for purchase on site, so no more toting around that note for weeks until you happen by a post office. Tonight, and every first and third Wednesday of the month, 7-9 p.m., Freebird Books & Goods, 123 Columbia St. at Kane Street, Brooklyn, 718-643-8484, free.

To submit an event for consideration for the Calendar, please wire the particulars to calendar@nysun.com, placing the date of the event in the subject line.