Penn State dance instructor Spence Ford remembers Bob Fosse as a combination of a walking legend and a personable human being.

"He was very soft-spoken and very casual in his physical appearance," Ford said.

She also recalls his life motto --"life is just a bowl of cherries."

This saying became the opening number of Fosse, a celebratory collection of the legendary choreographer and director's work.

Fosse will play at 8 p.m. Friday at Eisenhower Auditorium.

"Fosse is saying life is simple. The opening of the show is about introducing life," said Rodrick Covington, a lead performer in Fosse and a recent graduate of SUNY-Purchase Acting Conservatory. "It takes you on the ups and downs, the ins and outs of life."

Fosse premiered on Broadway in 1999 and won three Tony awards, including Best Musical.

"Razzle Dazzle" from Chicago, "Mein Herr" from Cabaret and "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity are a few of the featured numbers.

"This show has power. The cast's unity off stage shows on stage," Covington said.

"There is no set, and I love it. (The actors) have to create the atmosphere."

Fosse's choreography, known for its sexual suggestiveness and its burlesque style, has recently made a comeback.

"I think there is a revival of interest in his work with the revival of Chicago and with Fosse," Penn State dance instructor Lon Hurst said. "He based his choreography on the antithesis of ballet. His stuff is very athletic, very specific, very demanding."

Fosse's choreography often involves hunched backs and pigeon-toed feet.

"He worked by featuring his opposites. He didn't like his hands, so he used a lot of gloves. He capitalized on his faults," Hurst said.

Ford, who worked on Broadway with Fosse in Dancin', recently saw Fosse in New York.

"Some of the people I did Dancin' with were in Fosse," she said. "I think that Fosse's choreography is extraordinary and needs to be preserved through teaching."

A limited quantity of tickets for Friday's performance can be purchased by calling (800) ARTS-TIX. Tickets cost $38 or $30 for general audience members, $25 or $17 for Penn State University Park students, and $33 or $25 for people 18 and under.