The University Dance Theatre premiered its fall dance production, “On the Marley,” Thursday night.

Kenneth Balint, a Fresno State dance professor and the artistic director for the Dance 115 class who perform “On the Marley” said students have been working hard preparing for the past 11 weeks.

“They meet during class time, which is never enough, so they will rehearse on weekends or late at night, or some even come in really early before classes start,” Balint said. “It’s really hard to get groups together, but they make it happen. It takes a lot of effort on their part, but it’s also worth it. They have a lot of fun.”

The performances will include about 18 students participating in eight large group dances and eight solo, duet and trios. The styles of dance include ballet, contemporary and hip-hop and more.

“From the people on hand, we create dances to perform,” Balint said. “There’s all kinds of dance and it changes all the time because there’s different people.”

The title of the dance concert, “On the Marley,” was taken from the kind of floor they will be performing on.

“The ‘Marley’ is a special floor covering and dancers love it because it has a good amount of slip and traction,” Balint said.

Junior dance student Chee Yang is taking the class for the fourth time.

“I get to meet new dancers and I love to dance,” Yang said. “It’s awesome how I meet a lot of dancers and they’re not all majoring in dance.”

When she takes the class, Yang also likes to volunteer to be a choreographer.

“I know most dancers are more into contemporary style,” Yang said. “So I always volunteer and do hip-hop dances or krump or something different.”

Yang said that during the semester the class becomes like a family.

“Taking this class made me make more friends and gives me more experience,” Yang said.

Balint encourages students and community members to come and watch students dance and expect to have an enjoyable time at the concert.

Other performances will be on Friday and Saturday at the Lab School Theatre at 8 p.m. with a matinée on Saturday at 2 p.m.

Tickets for the show cost $5 and are available for purchase at the door or online.