SHOPPERS were left open mouthed when a dance group from Dorchester performed in the aisles of a department store.

The Portrait County Youth Dance Company stopped visitors to Debenhams in Weymouth in their tracks with a concept routine carried out in black and blond wigs and striking 1940s costumes.

The group carried out three performances all around the busy store with shoppers stopping to take photos with many wondering what was going on.

At first six of the girls arrived through the shop’s main doors in Lower Bond Street and puzzled onlookers by striking different synchronised poses.

Shopper Adrian Copley, 55, said seeing the girls cheered him up while he shopped with family.

Mr Copley, who is a regular visitor from Stafford as he keeps a boat in Portland Marina, said he first thought they were pretending to be statues.

He said: “I thought ‘she’s real’ then they started moving. It brightens your day up because it’s so different.”

One of the performers took her place between the escalators while the other girls split into smaller groups and walked around the store in a line wearing constant deadpan expressions while they performed.

There were also comical moments where they would all point in the same direction and crowds of shoppers would turn their heads to see what they were pointing at.

Choreographer Carly Reader said the routine was initially inspired by a Debenhams poster of women workers pining for their husbands during the Second World War.

She said: “The dancers all did really well and were really confident.

“We got an unsuspecting audience but people seemed to enjoy it.”

The dancers said it was a big change from dancing on stage.

Hannah Christoper, 17, from Dorchester, said: “It’s been a big experience and we’ve had so many good comments.”

Reanna White, 16, said: “When we went past people we could hear them saying ‘oh that’s beautiful movement and that it was really entertaining.

“And especially seeing the little kids trying to do what we were doing was quite touching.”

The performance was part of a series of events being supported by the Arts Council through the county wide Activate programme and the B-Side festival events being held in Weymouth and Portland.

These currently include the graffiti paintings on the wall of the TK Maxx store inspired by Bristol artist Banksy. The paintings include a life-size boy throwing money into the air with fake notes spread across the wall and the floor and into a drain between TK Maxx and Debenhams.

B-Side’s Sally Watkins said she chose Debenhams because of its size and as it would be one of the most unusual venues.

And the group were also encouraged by the store’s agreement to host the performances.