Depends on what purpose the grouping serves. You could duplicate the shapes
and then group it, such that the original shapes are not modified. You could
move them off the slide or simply place them on another hidden slide for
later re-use. Alternately there are add-ins which could copy/paste
animations.
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Regards.
Shyam Pillai
Handout Wizard
http://skp.mvps.org/how