Standing behind the curtain, Yosef Mahmood feels his body start to tense and his stomach start to churn.

He steps onto the stage and the nerves disappear as the energy from the audience takes over.

Mahmood is performing in “Escape,” a dance concert put on by Fresno State’s Department of Theatre Arts.

The Portable Dance Troupe, which includes students, alumni and members of the community, is performing its spring dance concert “Escape” all this week.

In its opening weekend, the concert sold out the Arena Theatre.

“I was super pleased. We had three sell out performances and the audience got really involved,” director Kenneth Balint said. “Opening night went very, very well and each night got better.”

Mahmood agrees.

“Opening weekend went really well,” he said. “Our feedback was very good and our choreographers were pretty happy with us.”

Mahmood, who is a theatre arts and political science major, performs in a piece called “Wooden Horse.”

“The dance I’m in is a little creepy. When we set ourselves at the beginning of the performance, we could hear the audience reacting,” he said. “It was really gratifying and energizing to hear that.”

Three dance pieces are included by director Ruth Griffin, who is currently teaching with the semester abroad program in London.

Balint, who is also a director, debuts a new piece. This piece, entitled “Endlos: Fact or Fiction,” incorporates video, text and dance.

“There are six incredibly different pieces,” Balint said. “There is a piece that uses clothing as a metaphor and another uses multimedia. I think it works well for a university [audience].”

For the remaining performances, Balint said he wants “intangible things” to happen.

“Dancers love to dance. I want everybody to be able to dance their hearts out,” he said. “And when it’s all over, everybody will be kind of sad after working so hard.”

Preparation for this concert started at the beginning of the fall semester with auditions. Each piece was rehearsed for about two to four hours per week, Balint said.

“We’ve been meeting two hours every Tuesday since the middle of last semester,” Mahmood said. “The week before performances started we went into tech and costume rehearsal every night.”

Changes were being made, however, up until the last minute.

“We had a last minute injury which changed casting. People had to learn new roles in 24 hours,” Balint said. “They had to learn a lot quickly but everybody rose to the occasion.”

Other choreographers include special guest artist Melissa Rolnick and Andy Noble, a former member of the Utah Repertory Dance Theatre.

“The Clothesline,” a piece by Noble, is a “gutsy and robust exploration” of the images people create for themselves and relationships, a press release said.

Rolnick, who has received recognition throughout the country, premieres a piece entitled “Ball Strategies.” This piece, which emphasizes precision and rhythm, is a highlight of the show, according to the release.

The remaining performances run today through Saturday, March 31 at 8:00 p.m. in the Arena Theatre, located in the Speech Arts building

Tickets are $13 for faculty, staff and non-Fresno State students.

Students pay $8 admission with I.D.

Tickets can be purchased during the week at the box office from noon to 5 p.m. or one hour prior to curtain.