DANCE schools across Weymouth and Portland have united for a major fundraising event.

Platinum Dance School, which runs three schools across the two towns, has organised a day of family fun at Weymouth Pavilion on Saturday, May 21, followed by an evening performance bringing together talent from across the Dorset area.

Performers from Platinum will appear alongside Weymouth Ballet School, Stagecoach, Evolution, Let's Dance and numerous other schools and groups based in the county.

Both events will seek to raise awareness of juvenile arthritis, with money split between the Kingfisher Ward at Dorset County Hospital and the paediatric rheumatology team at Southampton General Hospital.

Sibling dance instructors Liane and Tegan Jeffries have a family member who suffers from the condition and this has inspired them to choose the cause for their latest fundraising event.

In previous years, Platinum has raised more than £1,000 for Help for Heroes and £2,000 for Cancer Research UK with similar events.

Liane said: "It is going to be a really fun day and there is lots of local talent on show.

"It would mean a lot to all of the schools if people came along.

"I do not know if we will beat our fundraising record, but it would be lovely if we can beat previous years."

The daytime event will take the form of a family fun day in the Pavilion's Ocean Room, featuring face painting, glitter tattoos and a bouncy castle.

Children will also have the opportunity to meet and greet Anna and Elsa from Disney animated film Frozen.

During the day, there will also be chance to sample dance-based fitness methods including Zumba and Boogie Fit.

The evening portion of the show will feature dance performances in the theatre, as well as an appearance from Weymouth's own West End star Charlotte Anne Steen.

Ahead of the fundraiser, Liane and Tegan have recently been honoured with nominations in the Dance Teacher Hub's annual awards.

Tegan has been nominated as the best new teacher and Liane has been recognised with a spot on the shortlist to be named teacher of the year.

Liane said: "I do not hold my breath that we are going to win, but to be shortlisted out of the hundreds of entries is quite something.

"On the Platinum page, there is a link to vote for us and you can vote as many times as you like."

Tickets for the evening performance cost £10.50 and can be bought from the Weymouth Pavilion box office or weymouthpavilion.com.