Feel like doing the Hustle – in the middle of the library? Go ahead. Today the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts opens its new exhibit “Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights.”

Located within the library, in the Oenslager Gallery, this tribute to the groovy past takes a broad look at how the music and dance of the 1970s gripped popular culture. Its point is that disco wasn’t just one dance move or a certain style of music; it was an amalgam of influences that came together in different ways for different segments of the culture.

Eric Weisbard, one of the exhibit’s curators, explained the multifaceted approach: “We tried to tell all the different sides of the disco story: Saturday Night Fever, Donna Summer, the underground clubs. One straightforward concept then becomes a lot more complex.”

One way that the exhibit shows this complexity is through dance. Included in the exhibit are four video screens, each running different clips of people dancing. Shots of instructional Hustle films are juxtaposed with people dancing at Studio 54 and at underground and private clubs in loose, crazy ways.

The Hustle itself was a specific combination of salsa and ballroom dancing set to a new beat – and the methods of learning it are very much included in the exhibit. “The instructional stuff was such a cottage industry that we included a case of instruction manuals,” Mr. Weisbard said.

But there’s much more to the exhibit than dance. “We wanted to tell a story that was musical, visual, and social,” said the curator. To that end, there are listening stations devoted to categories of music, including “Euro Disco” and “Disco Sucks,” the very worst and silliest songs of the era.

There are also oral histories of people who were present at the creation, and touch-screen kiosks that show the links between disco, jazz, and funk. An additional four video screens run clips of disco within popular culture -such as a disco-centric episode of the television show “Wonder Woman.” Mr. Weisbard and his fellow curators, Ann Powers and Ben London, initially developed the exhibit for the Experience Music Project, the 140,000-square-foot music and pop-culture museum in Seattle, which opened in 2000 and was largely bankrolled by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. EMP’s efforts to preserve the relatively recent past – especially the musical element – may seem slightly lowbrow for our august performing arts library. But whether the subject be Balanchine or John Travolta, the challenge is how to preserve and present ephemeral arts.

“It’s our mission to take the still-new concept of the pop music museum forward,” said Mr. Weisbard. “Even hearing one song takes several minutes. How do you put music in a context that’s fresh?”

The exhibit was inspired by Village Voice writer, Vince Aletti, who asked the EMP folks if they’d like to archive his collection of disco records and memorabilia. Though the show was put up at the EMP museum, the curators are particularly happy about bringing it all back to the Big Apple.

“When we started talking to lenders, we said our greatest goal was to have this exhibit come to be in New York, because it’s such a New York story,” Mr. Weisbard said.

And though the disco-backlash is covered in the exhibit, no one’s expecting any riots. Take it from Robert Wattman, whose company – called “Do the Hustle”- owns the themed nightclubs Poly Esther’s (1970s), Culture Club (1980s), and the recently opened Nerve Ana (1990s): “The 70s were just completely silly, but still fun.”

So try not to cringe: just enjoy.

“Disco: A Decade of Saturday Nights” runs February 1 to May 14 at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, 40 Lincoln Center Plaza. For more information call 212-870-1630.

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Big-time ballet talent is headed to New York City later this month. Under the auspices of the ballet gala “Stars of the 21st Century,” top-notch dancers from around the world will be performing major ballet choreography for one night only: February 14 (7:30 p.m.) at the New York State Theater.

What’s exciting here is the chance to see so many different dancers all in one place. There’s a healthy dose of choreography that isn’t frequently presented on these shores – mixed in with some familiar works danced by foreign stars.

Three pas de deux created by Roland Petit – “Thais,” “L’Arlesienne,” and “La Prisonnier” – are slated for performance. The balcony pas de deux from the original 1946 “Romeo & Juliet” (choreographed by Leonid Lavrovsky) will be danced by the Kirov’s Diana Vishneva and Andrian Fadeev, who will also present the Rubies portion of Balanchine’s “Jewels.”

For anyone who loves the Royal Ballet, this is a chance to see Alina Cojocaru and Johan Kobborg. They’ll be dancing the Act II pas de deux of “Giselle” and a duet from “Don Quixote.” The Paris Opera Ballet is sending Eleonora Abbagnato and Alessio Carbone to dance a portion of “Delibes Suites.” Lucia Lacarra and Cyril Pierre, of the Munich Ballet, will dance two of the Petit works. The Bolshoi’s Svetlana Lunkina and Dmitri Gudanov are scheduled to dance the pas de deux from “Paganini” and “La Sylphide.” Local entries include American Ballet Theater’s Xiomara Reyes and Herman Cornejo in Vaganova’s “Diana & Acteon” pas de deux, as well as Angel Corella and Alexandra Ansanelli (of New York City Ballet), who will dance the pas de deux from “Le Corsaire.” That’s one combo that’s not to be missed. There’s even a little modern dance thrown in: the Martha Graham Ensemble will perform “Steps in the Street” from “Chronicle.”

If you’re looking for the ultimate dance-related Valentine’s Day outing, this is it.

For tickets ($20 to $120), call Ticket master 212-307-4100 or the New York State Theater Box Office 212-870-5570.