DANCE

METAMORPHOSIS Acclaimed choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet, Lourdes Lopez, present Morphoses/the Wheeldon Company, which dances its long-awaited inaugural season this week. Designer Narciso Rodriguez collaborated on the costume designs and sets for the company’s dancers. Ms. Lopez is also the former executive director of the George Balanchine Foundation. Through Sunday, October 21, New York City Center, 131 W. 55th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-581-1212, $30–$110.

FOOD & DRINK

DARJEELING UNLIMITED A behind-the-scenes view of one of the city’s most elegant luxury hotels, the Waldorf-Astoria, is on offer during a “High Tea” hosted by the 92nd Street Y. Participants are given a tour of the Waldorf’s ornate banquet halls and guest suites, where heads of state, socialites, and the well-heeled have laid their heads. Tea is served on the hotel’s fabled Cocktail Terrace. Tomorrow, noon, and Friday, November 2, Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, 301 Park. Ave., between 49 and 50th streets, 212-415-5500, $55.

YOU SAY TOMATO “Mediterranean Diet: Food Culture, Nutrition, and the Question of Quality” is a two-day conference that focuses on the benefits and ideology of the popular diet, and how it has recently served as a cultural marker in Western cuisine. The conference includes panel discussions, product tastings, field trips, and a dinner at the James Beard House. Participants include a professor of nutrition at New York University, Marion Nestle, chef Lidia Bastianich, and Ernesto Illy of Illy Caffé. Friday and Saturday, Friday, 9a.m., New York Univeristy, Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, 24 W. 12th St., between Fifth and Sixth avenues, Saturday, 10 a.m., James Beard House, 167 W. 12th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-992-9380, $295 general, $250 members, $200 students.

PAINTINGS

HER VERY OWN Françoise Gilot might be best known for her love affairs. She was the wife of the late physician Jonas Salk, who created the first polio vaccine, and a mistress of Pablo Picasso. Ms. Gilot was, and is, a formidable painter in her own right, filling large expanses of canvas with solid color in her many abstract works. “Françoise Gilot: Compositions, 2002–2005” celebrates the 85-year-old’s career. Selections include “The Tree of Life” (2002), above. Today through Saturday, December 1, Sunday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m., New York Studio School, 8 W. 8th St. at Fifth Avenue, 212-673-6466, free.

READINGS

REBUILDING Atina Grossman’s “Jews, Germans, and Allies: Close Encounters in Occupied Germany” (Princeton) examines reconstruction in post-World War II Germany. The author discusses the stories of Jewish survivors who slowly emerged from hiding, the Germans who were suddenly forced to flee as a result of the invasion of the Red Army, and the war survivors who learned to co-exist peacefully with Allied occupying forces. A professor of history at Cooper Union, Ms. Grossman, reads from and answers questions about her book. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., Cooper Union, Albert Nerken School of Engineering, room 21E, 51 Astor Pl., between Third and Fourth avenues, 212-353-4195, free.

TALKS

BEARING WITNESS An anchor for the NBC morning news program, the “Today” show, Ann Curry, leads “Darfur, Darfur: Our Walls Bear Witness,” a discussion of the ongoing crisis in the embattled African nation. The talk explores the history of the conflict and what can be done to stop it. Genocide in the region has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians. Featured panelists joining Ms. Curry include a senior adviser to the International Crisis Group, John Prendergrast, and a co-founder of Darfur Peace and Development, a stateside advocacy organization, Omer Ismail. (Mr. Ismail is a refugee from Darfur.) The talk is co-sponsored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. Tonight, 6:30 p.m., New-York Historical Society,170 Central Park Westat 77th Street, 212-868-4444, free. To reserve tickets, go to nyhistory.org.

THEATER

THE MUSIC MAN A prolific composer, Irving Berlin, wrote more than 1,200 songs, and scored a dozen-plus Broadway shows, as well as several Hollywood motion pictures. The Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts presents “I Love a Piano,” a musical that comprises more than 60 songs from Berlin’s catalog, including “Puttin’ on the Ritz” and “There’s No Business Like Show Business.” Ray Roderick and Michael Berkeley are artistic directors of the show, and Mr. Roderick is also choreographer. The production follows the adventures of a piano with a broken key, and takes the audience on a journey through several decades of American music. Sunday, 3 p.m., Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts, 2900 Campus Rd. at Hillel Place, Walt Whitman Theatre at Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, 718-951-4500, $25.

OFFICE SPACE The lives of a receptionist and her co-workers, are changed when the handsome Mr. Dart comes to town in “Receptionist.” The play is written by Adam Bock and directed by Joe Mantello, the director of Broadway’s “Wicked.” Among the featured cast members is Jayne Houdyshell, who was nominated for a Tony Award for her role as Ann Kron in Lisa Kron’s comedy “Well.” Through Sunday, December 23, New York City Center, 131 W. 55th St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-581-1212, $75.

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