ART

PERSPECTIVES Gitana Rosa Gallery presents the opening reception for “Nuestras Vistas,” a group exhibit of landscape photographs of local as well as national and international emerging artists. Photographers were given the titular theme (“Our View”) and commissioned to interpret it as they saw fit. Nicholas Velasquez, Timothy Wood, Celine Ruben-Salama, and Shiyi Sheng are among featured artists. Friday, 7 p.m., exhibit through Sunday, February 18, Gitana Rosa Gallery, 19 Hope St., between Havemeyer and Roebling streets, no. 7, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, 718-387-0115, free.

BOOKS

HISTORY OF HAITI Madison Smartt Bell reads from his biography “Toussaint Louverture” (Random House). A biography critic for The New York Sun, Carl Rollyson, wrote that Mr. Bell “respects the inscrutability of human nature, thereby elevating the genre of biography to the highest level.” Tonight, 7 p.m., 192 Books, 192 Tenth Ave., between 21st and 22nd streets, 212-255-4022, free.

COLLAGES

ANOTHER PAM ANDERSON “Esoteric Blanket” is an exhibit of handcut and sewn paper collages by Pam Anderson featuring scenes of everyday events using what the artist calls “a formal economy where quiet sound dominates.” Selections include “Summer’s Pleated Fan” (2005), top, and “Urgency Ends With a Bright Blue Bulb” (2006). Through Saturday, February 3, Tuesday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., Kathryn Markel Fine Arts, 529 W. 20th St., between Tenth and Eleventh avenues, 212-366-5368, free.

DANCE

FROM SEVILLA Andrea Del Conte Danza España is considered to be New York’s premiere flamenco dance company. The company performs a four-night stand, featuring music by Gazpacho Andalú and a guest appearance by Marco De Ana. Through Sunday, 8 p.m., Joyce SoHo, 155 Mercer St., between Houston and Prince streets, 212-334-7479, $28 general, $25 students and seniors.

FAMILY

RHYME AND REASON The New York Theatre Ballet presents “Mother Goose!” a madcap onehour ballet featuring many of the well-known characters known to readers of the classic nursery rhymes, including Jack and Jill, Little Bo Peep, and Mary Mary Quite Contrary. Choreographer Keith Michael has sampled a variety of dance styles in creating the madcap ballet, from clogging to folk. Elena Zahlman dances the titular role. The company dances to an original score by composers Vladimir Shinov and Marina Porchkhidze. Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m., 1 and 3:30 p.m., NYTB, Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St., between Madison and Park avenues, $30 general, $25 children under 12.

GREEN THUMB The New York Botanical Garden hosts “Composting With Wiggling Worms,” a demonstration of the basic principles of composting led by its home gardening expert. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, yard trimmings and food residuals together constitute almost 25% of the American municipal solid waste stream. Rather thanbeing sent to landfills, the material can be naturally converted into compost — environmentally beneficial organic material that can in turn be used as a soil amendment or as a medium to grow plants. Saturday and Sunday, 1:30 p.m. NYBG, meet in the Children’s Adventure Garden’s Dodge Discovery Center, 200th Street at Kazimiroff Boulevard, the Bronx, 718-817-8700, $13 general, $11 students and seniors, $5 children ages 2–12, free for children under 2.

MUSIC

ONE NIGHT ONLY The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents the Hamburg Symphony, which performs Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D Major, Opus 35 and the Symphony No. 2 in D Major, Opus 73, by Brahms. Conductor Andrey Boreyko leads the orchestra, and violinist Robert McDuffie is a featured performer. Friday, 8 p.m., the Met, Grace Rainey Rogers Auditorium, 1000 Fifth Ave. at 82nd Street, 212-535-7710, $50.

CLASSICAL IVORIES Riccardo Muti conducts the New York Philharmonic as pianist Gerhard Oppitz makes his Philharmonic debut. The orchestra performs Martucci’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B-flat minor, and “Ballet Music” from Verdi’s “Macbeth.” Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., Lincoln Center, Avery Fisher Hall, Broadway at 65th Street, 212-875-5656, $28–$96.

CARNEGIE CHOICE The Oberline Conservatory Symphony performs Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 25 in C Major, Bartók’s Concerto for Orchestra, and Jennifer Higdon’s “blue cathedral.” Robert Spano conducts the orchestra, and soloists include Pedja Muzijevic. Friday, 8 p.m., Carnegie Hall, 54 W. 57th St. at Seventh Avenue, 212-247-7800, $5.

JEALOUS GIRLS The indie quartet Jealous Girlfriends performs selections from their album of unrequited loves songs, “Comfortably Uncomfortable.” The emerging group with a hard-to-categorize sound has been described as “post punk experimental shoe-gaze band with an endearing identity crisis.” Band members include guitarist Josh Abbott and singer Holly Miranda, who met in 2004 and initially formed the band as a duo. The band North Six is an accompanying act. Saturday, 9 p.m., Tuesday, 9 p.m., Union Hall, 702 Union St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, Park Slope, Brooklyn, 718-638-4400, $8.

PHOTOGRAPHY

TOUCH THE SKY Christoph Bangert signs copies of “Travel Notes: 22 Thousand Miles Across the Americas” (PowerHouse), his collection of landscape photos. Four years ago, Mr. Bangert embarked on a six-month expedition that took him over two continents, across the borders of 14 countries, and through numerous mountain ranges before he returned home to the wilds of Brooklyn. The book is a written and visual documentary of his trip. Friday, 6 p.m., International Center of Photography, Library at the School, 1114 Sixth Ave. at 43rd Street, 212-857-0000, free.

READINGS

LIFE OF PY La Maison Française of New York University presents writer-actor Oliver Py, who gives a reading and rare performance, in French, of excerpts from his “Illusions comiques,” an exploration of questions of theatrical identity and “masked character.” Mr. Py is the newly appointed director of Théâtre de l’Odéon in Paris. Friday, 7:30 p.m., NYU, La Maison Française, 16 Washington Mews at University Place, 212-998-8750, free.

SOIRÉES

MAKE ME UP A makeup artist for Paula Dorf, Francisco Rosales, offers one-hour lessons and tips for the beauty-conscious. Admission includes $100 worth of Paula Dorf products. Saturday, 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Butterfly Studio, 149 Fifth Ave., between 20th and 21st streets, 2nd floor, 212-253-2100, $100.

SAVING DARFUR The Jewish Community Center presents “Teens Dance for Darfur,” a dance party organized by teenagers to raise money and awareness for the plight of refugees and victims in the Sudan. The 14th Street Y and the Village Synagogue are participating organizations. Saturday, 8–11 p.m., JCC, 334 Amsterdam Ave. at 76th Street, 646-505-5708, $15 in advance, $18 at the doors.

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.