Tchaikovsky’s enchanting and magical Christmas story The Nutcracker was a perfect introduction to ballet for my dance-mad nine-year-old daughter and her friend who had just found out they would be performing the same show at their school this Christmas.

The Vienna Festival Ballet, which was formed in 1980, regularly tours the UK under artistic director Peter Mallek and provides an ideal opportunity for children to see the art and skills of the ballet at close quarters.

The great thing about The Nutcracker, especially for children, is that it is full of recognisable music (mainly from TV ads I suppose) and although it wasn’t performed by a live orchestra, which was a great shame, the recorded music did work well – most of the time! The show started with a Christmas party and ball and the exchanging of presents. Our hero Clara (elegantly played by Jodie McKnight) is given a wooden nutcracker soldier doll as a present by her mysterious Uncle Drosselmyer.

During the party she and her brother Fritz ( Eleanora Enas) fight over the doll.

That night, Clara falls asleep under the Christmas tree and as midnight strikes she is awoken by giant mice and the magic begins.

The doll is transformed into a princely soldier (Francesco Bruni).

The dancing in the early scenes seemed a little bit repetitive and safe, but this greatly improved as the story unfolded when the soldier fought the Mouse King and his army.

The second half saw Clara and the prince journey to the magical land of snow and it’s here they encounter the Sugar Plum Fairy (beautifully danced by Yorkshire-born Emily-Joy Smith) who takes them to the Kingdom of Sweets. This was the bit the girls liked the best.

The troupe performed colourful dances from around the world – Spanish, Arabian, Russian and Chinese – all in beautiful and lavish costumes and headdresses.

There was an elegant and moving dance featuring the Sugar Plum Fairy and the Sugar Plum Cavalier (Miguel Piquer). I looked across at my daughter Zara to gauge her reaction and she was wiping her eyes. I couldn’t decide whether she was crying or just simply tired... it was the latter. The show was a good two hours long. The girls left humming the Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy and hopefully with a few tips for their own show.

Review by Jayne Ritchie