personalised kids backpack, pink, embroidered ballet shoes initial + name, rucksack, school bag, (choice of 4 colours)

$45 advance; $55 at the door. 650-864-9150 or www.cherylburkedance.com/mountainview. Smuin Ballet. 8 p.m. Feb. 22-24; 2 and 8 p.m. Feb. 25; 2 p.m. Feb. 26. “Dear Miss Cline,” choreographed by Amy Seiwert; Michael Smuin’s “Tango Palace,” “The Eternal Idol” and “Stabat Mater.” Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro St., Mountain View. $49- 62. 650-903-6000 or www.smuinballet.org. San Mateo County History Museum. Playing Grown-Up: Toys from the Harry P. Costa Collection, through Dec. 31, 2012. Toys from the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s that allowed children to mimic the activities of adults, such as a pedal-car fire truck and airplane, Tonka work trucks, an electric 1929 Lionel Stove & Oven, a G-men Fingerprint Set, a “Miss Friday” mechanical doll and a Lionel train. San Mateo County History Museum, 2200 Broadway, Redwood City. $3-$5; free to Association members. www.historysmc.org or 650-299-0104.

Higher Fire Gallery: A variety of housewares, jewelry and decorative ceramic pieces created by local artists and available for purchase, Higher Fire Clayspace & Gallery, 499 S, Market St., San Jose, 408.295.5765 or www.HigherFireStudios.com, South Bay Neuropathy personalised kids backpack, pink, embroidered ballet shoes initial + name, rucksack, school bag, (choice of 4 colours) Support Group: Meets the third Saturday of the month, January-October, 10:30 a.m.-noon, DePaul Conference Room, O’Connor Hospital, 2105 Forest Ave., San Jose, For details, call Stan Pashote at 510.490.4456, South Valley Leads Club: The club provides a networking method through which professionals can increase their business referrals, Meets Thursdays, 7:30-8:30 a.m, Marie Callendar’s, 620 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose, For information or reservations, call 408.972.9177..

Lady Gaga, “Artpop,” Streamline/Interscope, ** 1/2. “Do you wanna see the girl who lives behind the aura?” Lady Gaga asks us at the beginning of her third studio album, amid cutting Eastern rhythms and swirling synthesizers from co-producers Zedd and Infectious Mushroom. The look throughout “Artpop” is not particularly revealing, however. The same Gaga we know (and many love) from “The Fame” and “Born This Way” is still in control here, celebrating empowerment, seeking sexual salvation, winking with occasional self-deprecation, parodying pop culture iconography (including fashion maven “Donatella” Versace) and always playing for the “Applause” of the 15th and final song of this hour-long romp. The familiarity breeds more comfort than contempt, though. Gaga, working primarily with DJ White Shadow, pushes herself into subtly edgier EDM directions on “Aura,” “G.U.Y.” and “Swine.” On “Jewels n’ Thugs” she lays calming melodic vocal hooks amidst the verbal spitfire of T.I., Too $hort and Twista, while “Sexxx Dreams” builds into chill ambiance and “Fashion!” leans toward ’80s dance-pop a la Madonna’s “Holiday.” “Manicure” fuses glam rock flavors with club beats, the lifestyle anthem “Gypsy” boasts the bombastic drama of a Meat Loaf/Jim Steinway song and “Dope,” the set’s lone ballad, has the boozy wobble of a Brecht/Weill composition. Gaga tells us that “my Artpop could mean anything,” and she certainly applies it in many different directions here — though not with the same provocative results as its predecessors.

The North Dakota farm on which she was born lacked electricity, running water or indoor plumbing, and meals were prepared on a wood-burning stove, When not putting in long, grueling days accomplishing the thousands of tasks required to keep families and livestock fed and crops growing, girls learned traditional “feminine” skills, such as cooking and cleaning, Most settled into marriage and childbearing personalised kids backpack, pink, embroidered ballet shoes initial + name, rucksack, school bag, (choice of 4 colours) early, rarely leaving their hometowns, But from the start, Alfson was different, The oldest of three siblings, she was given two gifts that distinguished her from her female contemporaries: responsibility for her younger sisters and an education, In concert they formed the blueprint for her life..

Live 105’s Not So Silent Night: 5:30 p.m. Dec. 12, with Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy, Rise Against, Young the Giant, more; 6 p.m. Dec. 13 with Imagine Dragons, Alt-J, Interpol, Cage the Elephant, Spoon, Vance Joy, more; both shows at Oracle Arena, Oakland; $39.50-$69.50 single tickets; $125 for both shows; www.ticketmaster.com. Close to You — A Christmas Tribute to the Carpenters: Featuring Michelle Whited; 8 p.m. Dec. 13, 2 p.m. Dec. 14; Firehouse Arts Center, Pleasanton; $16-$28; 925-931-4848, www.firehousearts.org.