Buff bodies and Bach -- what do the two have in common?

The Center for Performing Arts (CPA) has identified both as key elements in the National Dance Company of Spain's upcoming performance.

Multiplicity: Forms of Silence and Emptiness will be presented at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday in Eisenhower Auditorium.

The life and work of Johann Sebastian Bach inspired the piece, which is a blend of contemporary and classical dance.

"It's beautiful, it's sensual, it's unlike anything you've ever seen in dance," said Laura Sullivan, CPA marketing and communication director.

In one scene, a male dancer portrays Bach bowing a cello.

"The musician is in love with his instrument. However, the cello is a female dancer," Sullivan said.

Audience members will hear music recorded by top musicians.

"We hope that a performance like this will cross over to our music lovers," Sullivan said.

Multiplicity: Forms of Silence and Emptiness was a collaborative effort between the National Dance Company of Spain and the German city of Weimar. Choreographer and company artistic director Nacho Duato was commissioned to create a piece honoring Bach. The work made its United States debut at the Lincoln Center Festival in 2001.

"We could say that the piece is based on the relation of the wonderful composer with his creation and with music," Duato said in an e-mail. "Multiplicity refers to the huge variety you can find in the work of Johann Sebastian Bach. It's the title for the first part of the show in which the rhythm is very quick with very colorful images, dynamic and energetic dance and continuous changes of scenes."

The second part of the show, Forms of Silence and Emptiness, is based on the last part of Bach's life.

"Nacho Duato is one of the most renowned choreographers in the world," said Lisa Kolesar (sophomore-education), a member of Volé, Penn State's ballet club. "I think it is going to be moving, even if you have no dance experience."