GO SOCKLESS: In the winter you can wear socks, but it’s become really fashionable to not. I just think it’s a good look. It’s a very suave look. It forces you to keep your hygiene up and have lots of pairs of shoes. You don’t want to get too funky.

IF YOU’RE WEARING A SHIRT, DON’T WEAR AN UNDERSHIRT: If you’re wearing a shirt, you’re not wearing anything underneath. That’s just the way it is. There’s no reason to do it. A crewneck with a button-down on top? A very vulgar thing. You look like a stand-up comedian. It’s no good.

OWN A WELL-FITTING SUIT: This one speaks for itself. 

THINK TWICE ABOUT WASHING: There are two things that men should not wash: their jeans and their hair. You don’t wash your jeans. You wait until they stink and then you get another pair. It’s not a waste of money because you can go to someplace like J.Crew and spend maybe $60. You’re going to wear ’em for six months anyway. When your girlfriend complains, you can get a new pair. Your hair: I don’t know any guys who wash their hair. You do it when you get a haircut or when you get a complaint from your significant other.

OWN THESE THREE THINGS: A good pair of tight-fitting jeans that fit really nice, a good pair of Chelsea boots and a leather jacket that you can wear everyday for half the year. If you got that, you’re good. Then a nice-fitting blazer if you want to step it up a little bit.

Chromeo’s third album Business Casual comes out September 14.

For many of us, summer celebrations are just hitting their stride. But for Hettie Barnhill—a dancer in the hit Broadway production of Fela!—summer kicked off on June 13 at the Tony Awards, where the cast of Fela! took home three awards, including one for best choreography. For the show’s big-name producers, including Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jay-Z, the win was recognition of a job well done. But for Barnhill, it was only the beginning.

GOTHAM: You started dancing at age three. Why so young? 
HETTIE BARNHILL: My mother was the one to put me in dance at The Pelagie Green Wren Dance Studio in St. Louis, Missouri.  I was a very hyper child, so my mother enrolled me in dance, modeling, gymnastics, piano and, later on, acting and singing. This was my childhood and I loved every minute of it.

Why do you dance? 
In the beginning, I think all the class was [meant to do was] to help me with stage fright. When I grew older, around 11 or so, my mother asked me if I wanted to continue with dance and I said yes. In that moment I made it my passion. It became my vision, my first language, and everything else followed. It helped me during grade school and those great teenage years, teaching me not to sweat the small stuff and to keep moving toward a successful future.

Fela! has many big-name investors—has anyone or anything intimidated you?
Not intimidated, more humbled. Here I am, on Broadway, performing for people I have looked up to my whole life, like Angela Bassett, Janet Jackson and Oprah. It is actually very exciting to be in the same room as these people and share that same energy and at the same time show them what I do.

The production won three awards: Best Sound Design of a Musical, Best Costume Design of a Musical and Best Choreography. How do you feel about that?
Very proud. Although Fela! deserved a lot more Tonys than the three we were awarded. When we found out we won best choreography, we were ecstatic because we worked very hard and put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into this production.

How intense are rehearsals? 
It’s not grueling, but I will say it is a lot. We still rehearse on a continual basis. We have been on an emotional roller-coaster with Fela!, only thing is we don’t have the chance to get off and wait in line again. This roller-coaster keeps going.

How is it working with choreographer Bill T. Jones?
Amazing. Way before Fela! my goal was to work with him. His choreography inspired me in high school and college, which was the first time I met him. When I rehearse with BTJ, I cannot keep my eyes off him. Mostly because he might come and ask me to do a certain movement or task, and you do not want to be “not ready” when he comes for you. But also because of his genius, to see his mind work. . . [These] are the moments I appreciate most. He is always stepping outside the box, and as a young choreographer myself I was always attracted to choreographers who didn’t play by the rules. I feel like doing so can stunt your growth. 

What’s next?
Definitely more Broadway! Currently I’m working on two projects. One is with my dance company, Just Movement Collective. We’re now in rehearsals for an evening-length piece titled The Relations Series, which will be shown in the fall. I’m also in the studio recording music for my debut album.

Try to envision what it would be like if every day Big Apple dwellers had the ultimate accessibility to unlock some of the most valued nooks in every borough—like a secret door in the Brooklyn Museum or a closet in Gracie Mansion. Mayor Bloomberg, along with artist Paul Ramírez Jonas and sponsor Creative Time, are transforming this treasured fantasy into a thrilling reality by having members of the public award thousands of Ramírez’s custom-made keys to each other in one-on-one ceremonies.

The mayor, usually accustomed to ceremonially bestowing a “symbolic” key to international luminaries like the Dalai Lama, had the pleasure of receiving the first pocket-size honor at the Key to the City project press conference. During the bright morning in the heart of Times Square, a dapper Bloomberg explained how any interested party can acquire a key throughout the month of June from the Time Square kiosk. The keys opens steel gates, padlocks and secret compartments at more than 20 New York landmarks.

From left: Pink Jacket on Yellow; The Heat Stolen

Close friends for years, artists Natasha Law and Lucy Soni have never shown their work together—until now. Licking Out of the Same Bowl, their first collaborative project, will open May 19 at Diane von Furstenberg studios in Chelsea. Even though the show is based on the idea that they dipped out of the same paint bowl to create their works, they didn’t actually show one another their respective works until they were finished with them all.

“We discussed colors that we wanted to use, then went off to our respective galleroes and started painting,” Soni says. “While working toward the show, we would meet and discuss how our work was going and colors we were using, but not look at each other’s paintings—introducing an element of surprise for us both and so as not to too heavily influence one another.”

Soni, whose daughter’s crayon drawings (which, sadly, will not be making an appearance in the show) inspired her work, which uses acrylic paint on canvas to produce colorful abstract works conveying what she calls the “basic human urge” to create things. “I [explore] the relationship between a child’s mark-making and the abstract genre, and the friction between the freedom of childhood expression and the process of reproduction by a trained artist,” she says. “I use my daughter’s scribbles as a symbol, a pure image to express this basic urge to mark-make.”

Law, who works with household gloss on aluminum, produces colorful pieces focused on the female form. “The figures I paint are either very well-known to me—people I’m very close to, myself often—or I’ll use found imagery if there is something in the stance or pose that makes me wonder at the narrative behind her,” she says. “[I like to] imagine who she is. I hope to express how beautiful people are, even when reduced to simple shapes and colors.”

Both artists will be present for the show’s May 19 opening (6:30 PM). The show runs through June 1 (after that, by appointment with Voltz Clarke). Some works can be found at Voltz Clarke. Diane von Furstenberg, 440 W. 14th St., 917-449-9936

Patti Smith; Salman Rushdie. Photographs by Jenny Anderson

The opening ceremony for the PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature—which began with Salman Rushdie explaining how the presence of an empty chair on stage represented all the oppressed writers in the world who couldn’t be in New York—took place Wednesday at the 92nd Street Y in front of a packed house. Authors from Italy, Spain, Poland, Pakistan, Afghanistan and more read from their original works, mostly in their original languages backed by a projected English translation, which inspired some laughter, some tears and plenty of hushed awe. Rock legend Patti Smith took to the mic last, addressing the empty chair and thanking the absent writer for being present, before reading a poem in honor of the birthday of Chilean writer Roberto Bolaño. She incorporated song into her poem, letting her voice ring out across her listeners, before wishing Bolaño a smiley happy birthday.

The festival continues through Sunday, with events and lectures focusing on novel writing, poetry, journalism and, yes, even Kindles and Twitter. Highlights include Friday afternoon readings from Ernest Farrés’ The Poetry of Edward Hopper, a series of poems he wrote based on Hopper’s paintings, and a Saturday conversation (1 PM) between Patti Smith and Motherless Brooklyn author Jonathan Lethem. Go, listen and be inspired—your seventh-grade English teacher will thank you.

Nic*Rad hardly fits the brooding artist bill one might expect after seeing his paintings, which—though very colorful—tend to appear somewhat dark, twisted and at times even mauled. Rad borders on goofy, awkwardly extending his hand and flashing a big friendly grin upon introduction on his opening night at Rare Gallery in Chelsea’s famed art district. Behind him, the white walls are filled with his project “PeopleMatter” (on display through May 8): 99 paintings of various Internet and culturally present personalities—everyone from the Pope to blogger Perez Hilton—arranged in a Mondrian-esque pattern that seems to swirl around an iPad positioned on a shelf. (Serendipitously, the show opening fell on the day the device was released, which Rad acknowledged in a Facebook message to event-goers, kindly thanking Steve Jobs for his cooperation.) The paintings are beautiful, which makes it all the more impressive that Rad is giving them away for free at the end of April, accepting reservations all month via e-mail. Why? It’s all part of the art. Asked a few questions via e-mail (what member of the Internet generation doesn’t love that?), he graciously answered—assumingly between grins.

GOTHAM: What was the initial inspiration for this project? Was there an a-ha moment?
NIC*RAD: I worked on the project for 18 months—there were bouts of inspiration mixed with a lot of doubt and frustration. Illusions of grandeur and thoughts of career suicide were always present depending on the weather or quality of coffee I had that day. It felt right because I was mad for the work. It’s the only thing I wanted to do.

Why did you choose the subjects you chose?
The first six months of the project were spent chasing around and building RSS feeds, Twitter streams and Tumblrs. Many of my subject choices were like breadcrumbs in a labyrinth. Some of them were famous. Some of them were neighbors. Some of them were Internet crushes. On any particular day I would fall briefly in love with someone else’s digital persona; the way they pushed themselves through their bytes into little chunks of matter. I tried very hard to convince myself I understood everyone. Eventually I started to meet the folks I’d chosen. They were e-mailing back. The portraits were an attempt to empathize with the ghosts I’d been having conversations with. There’s a decent history and tradition of that sort of painting.

What did you hope people would take away from it?
I absolutely want to paint approachable pictures. But I think the reward for meeting with the paintings in person is an unexpected depth and consideration. I’m trying to squeeze the conversation of “painting” thin enough to fit in the browser. Careful to leave enough information to unpack and reconstruct the narrative. There’s not one message. It’s not a didactic project, because I don’t know anything—which is a bit of virtue. I had to get over myself in the face of so much information.

Why are you giving away most of the paintings for free, as opposed to selling them?
Free is a feature of the moment. My subjects all engage in some aspect of “free” whether their content begins that way or not. I am interested in noncapital exchange because it’s the mechanism that creatives will have to live and thrive on for some time. The new collectors will own some piece of this dialogue. I’m glad to know this project will be scattered around New York and to wherever. It’s not hunting for a museum or a single home. This is a very satisfying thought to me.

What do you imagine people saying to one another as they leave the gallery after viewing your work?
Nic*Rad is a towering genius. Now let’s go get something to eat.

The events below are free and occur throughout the show’s run:

April 16: Readings by Stephen Elliott (author of The Adderall Diaries) and Tao Lin (author of Shoplifting From American Apparel) (7 PM–9 PM)

April 29: The Gift Night, where 99 portraits will be given away (6 PM–8 PM)

May 6: Nicole Atkins performs

Photographs by Jenny Anderson

From left: Ja’Malik; Desiree Godsell. Photographs Courtesy of Harlem Stage

With the Renaissance, the Shake and the brownstones, Harlem has one of the richest cultural histories of any area of New York. Dance has played no small role in that history, and Harlem Stage aims to enrich the heritage with its annual dance-centric E-Moves series, which focuses on nine emerging choreographers of color as well as established artists who continue to evolve. Program One, which takes place April 9 and April 16, highlights a world premiere by Southern choreographer Ayo Jackson, as well as works by up-and-coming choreographers Miguel Anaya, Marguerite Hemmings, Malcolm Low and Paloma McGregor. Program Two, scheduled for April 10 and 17, features work by Erick Montes, as well as newcomers Ja’Malik, Maurice Chestnut, Desiree Godsell and Lia McPherson, and Ching-I Chang. The coolest part of the whole experience is the mentorship program, which is an opportunity for the new artists in the show to have a one-on-one chat with the established artists to get feedback about their work; mentors this year include the famed Bill T. Jones—who recently choreographed and directed the epic Fela! on Broadway—Ronald K. Brown and Nora Chipaumire. A film screening and reading are also on the schedule of events. Tickets are $20 for dance shows and $10 for the film screening. Call 212-281-9240, ext. 19 or 20.

Looking to expand your art collection? ArtCycle—an online consignment service launched by an avid collector—thinks outside the gallery. The NYC-based service, which is available to users across the country online, allows potential buyers to browse a vast array of work, communicate with artists and sellers, connect with other collectors, find market information and get advice from consultants and museums.

Rest assured: This is more than merely eBay for struggling artists. A selection committee comprised of collectors, curators and other art professionals handpicks sellers and pricing to ensure that all artworks are relevant to their respective markets. Current ArtCycle artists include Tracey Emin, Anselm Reyle, Massimo Vitali and William Eggleston, while works range from postwar to contemporary and are sold at fair, agreed-upon prices.

New York is no stranger to jazz or luxury, which is why—as the regular stomping ground of fabulous New Yorkers for more than 100 years—The Plaza Hotel has revived its jazz nights at The Rose Club to roaring success. The hotel’s lovely lounge has hosted musical greats like Bob Hope, Liza Minnelli, Duke Ellington, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday. And it recently partnered with Elan Artists to showcase both The Hudson Project and Lapis Luna, which performed a variety of easy-listening jazz favorites, show tunes and R&B hits (“Ain’t Misbehavin’,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” “Sway,” “But Not for Me”) while guests sipped old-fashioned libations and munched light gourmet fare. There’s probably no better way to celebrate the coming of spring in New York than enjoying a two-dollar hot dog while people watching on Fifth Avenue (trust us—it’s the best) before heading to The Rose Club for a refreshing white-wine sangria (the best in the city) or the Original Plaza Clover Club, a gin drink that tastes like freshly squeezed raspberry juice. The jazz wafting down the stairs will make you long for simpler times or, as one couple did, just embrace the now with a quick twirl around the lobby. Something tells us Ms. Holiday would be proud. Fifth Avenue at Central Park South, 212-759-3000

Experience a little night music when the New York Philharmonic presents a birthday concert to honor Stephen Sondheim, who brought A Little Night Music to American musical theater more than 35 years ago. David Hyde Pierce is set to host Sondheim: The Birthday Concert (March 15–16). The spring gala on March 15 will include a pre-concert reception, concert and post-concert birthday dinner with the artists. The production will feature many of the famous and brilliant scores, music and lyrics that Sondheim has brought to Broadway over the years, as well as rarely heard material to be performed by a cast of Broadway stars. American Ballet Theatre principal dancers Gillian Murphy and Ethan Stiefel will make their Philharmonic debuts along with choreographer Josh Rhodes. And Paul Gemignani, a longtime collaborator of Sondheim’s, will have the pleasure of conducting the Philharmonic. 10 Lincoln Center Plaza, 212-875-5900