DANCE

‘ONE’ AND ONLY The TAKE Dance Company, under the direction of Takehiro Ueyama, dances five contemporary works, three of which are premieres. Mr. Ueyama’s choreography is influenced by his Japanese heritage, and his 12-member modern dance ensemble is known for blending Eastern and Western dance techniques, music, and narratives. Among the pieces performed is “One,” from the company’s repertoire. The piece is based on the work of Canadian photographer Gregory Colbert and set to compositions ranging from Bach to 20th-century Japanese composer Toru Takemitsu. Thursday-Saturday, 8 p.m., Miller Theatre at Columbia University, 2960 Broadway at 116th Street, 212-868-4444, $25 general, $15 students.

FILM

FACING THE PAST El Museo Del Barrio hosts a screening of “La Fiesta del Chivo,” “The Feast of the Goat” (2006), director Luis Llosa’s adaptation of Peruvian author Mario Vargas Llosa’s best-selling book of the same name. In the film, a Dominican woman, Urania Cabral (Isabella Rossellini), escapes the tyrannical rule of dictator Rafael Leonidas Trujillo. She returns to her homeland 30 years later, after having become a successful Manhattan lawyer. In the Dominican Republic, she finds the family she left behind and is forced to confront her demons. Ms. Rossellini introduces the film, which is in Spanish with English subtitles. Friday, 6:30 p.m., El Museo Del Barrio, 1230 Fifth Ave. at 104th Street, 212-831-7272, free. To register in advance, send an e-mail to public_programs@elmuseo.org.

MUSIC

BANG ON THE DRUMS The Ngqoko Cultural Group performs traditional songs of South Africa as part of a program presented by the World Music Institute. Members of Ngqoko are considered to be guardians of rural Xhosa culture, indigenous to southeast South Africa; their task is to preserve the music and instruments of the region. The group is best known for its mastery of the 3,000-year-old style, umngqokolo, or split-tone singing, an unusual vocal technique similar to overtone singing. The group brings its unusual melodic sounds to New York in a debut performance. Friday, 8 p.m., New York University, Skirball Center for the Performing Arts, 566 La Guardia Place at Washington Square South, 212-545-4200, $27 general, $15 students.

PHOTOGRAPHY

INDIAN SUMMER Hermès presents “The Home and the World,” an exhibit of photography by two Indian photographers, Raghubir Singh and Dayanita Singh, on view at the Madison Avenue flagship’s top-floor gallery. The show features more than 50 works that explore India’s social complexity and natural beauty. Through Friday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m., Hermès, 691 Madison Ave. at 62nd Street, 212-751-3181, free.

READINGS

GREAT ESCAPE Fans of the Academy Award-winning actor Gene Hackman might not know that the “Hoosiers” star moonlights as an author. Mr. Hackman joins his co-author Daniel Lenihan to discuss and read from their third book collaboration, “Escape From Andersonville: A Novel of the Civil War” (St. Martin’s). The novel follows a fictional Union officer, Nathan Parker, as he makes a dramatic escape from a notorious Confederate prison. Thursday, 7 p.m., Borders, 10 Columbus Circle, between 58th and 59th streets, 212-823-9775, free.

TALKS

MODEL MUCKRAKER The City University of New York presents “Rediscovering Jacob Riis: Exposure Journalism and Photography in Turn-of-the-Century New York.” Riis employed his photojournalistic skills to push for social reforms, particularly those that would benefit his fellow New Yorkers. A professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, Daniel Czitrom, and curator Bonnie Yochelson, offer a fresh perspective on Riis’s work. Tomorrow, 6:30 p.m., Graduate Center at CUNY, Gotham Center for NYC History, 365 Fifth Ave. at 34th Street, 212-817-8474, free.

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