A DANCE company will take over a Weymouth department store today.

Portrait County Youth Dance Company is offering shoppers a new experience by performing inside Debenhams’ Weymouth branch.

It follows on from the ‘flashmob’ performance in the same store by Weymouth College students last week.

The company will showcase brand new work as the youth group perform a ‘site specific’ dance piece inside the branch.

This new challenge is a concept started as part of the B-Side Festival Youth Encounters Project which offers the opportunity for 14 to 25 year olds and emerging artists, to create work with site specific artists in Weymouth and Portland by animating public spaces.

Portrait is based in Dorchester and aims to provide young talented people with the opportunity to work with professional artists and companies, giving them the chance to create new work that is performed locally as well as across the region. Dancer and choreographer Sarah Shorten, former artistic director of Stacked Wonky Dance Company, worked with seven of the County Youth Dance Company members: Charlie Thomson, Reanna White, Hannah Christopher, Emily Hanton, Elinor-Rose Male, Molly Caselton and Abby Swarbrick.

Dance producer at Activate and manager of Portrait, Aurore Parkin, said: “It’s been a great opportunity for the young people to work under Sarah’s direction.

“With her they have been able to explore what it means to make a site specific piece and to perform among members of the public who are not necessarily expecting it.

“Portrait dancers are really excited to show what they have created and see the reaction of the public.”

Portrait will be performing their site specific dance piece several times at 11am, 12.30pm and 2pm on Saturday, with another chance to see the different creations that they have to offer that evening at the Marine Theatre in Lyme Regis at 8pm.

• Debenhams won’t be the only place to be hosting a bit of B-side encounters magic. The street walls of TK Maxx in the town centre will be transformed into outdoor galleries exhibiting some Banksy-inspired artwork.

This is being undertaken by young people from Littlemoor Youth Club who have been working with artist Peter Snelling to explore a young person’s take on wealth, money and the credit crunch.