IT starts out feeling a little odd to be watching this most famous of Christmas ballets in the middle of January.

But it soon becomes apparent that Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker is still a magical treat for the whole family, even after all the decorations have long been banished to the loft.

And in this interpretation from the Russian State Ballet of Siberia, with its pared-back set, muted colours and beautiful sheer drops covered in swirling snowflakes, it becomes more of a winter’s tale than a full-on festive feast.

The story starts on Christmas Eve where we see Marie falling asleep in a chair clutching her favourite present, a colourful nutcracker.

When midnight strikes we are swept away to a fairy-tale world where the toy dolls spring to life and Marie’s magically transformed nutcracker prince does battle with the Mouse-king and his mouse-army before sweeping her away to Fairyland.

Ekaterina Bulgutova is a tiny wisp of a dancer with delicate expressive movements, perfectly encapsulating the dreamlike innocence of the young Marie.

In contrast her long-limbed prince (Dmitriy Sobolevsky) exudes power and strength – when he isn’t leaping effortlessly around the stage he’s holding her tenderly as she spins and spins like an enchanting ballerina in a musical box.

By the end I’ll wager he had captured more than one heart of the many young girls in the audience – my 14-year-old among them!

For me this is a ballet of two halves. The first two acts seem to feature rather too much running around – albeit very prettily.

But by the time we are whisked away to Fairyland the dancers are really given the chance to showcase their skills.

The corps de ballet, dotted around the stage like delicate sugared almonds, provide the perfect backdrop for the vivid costumes of the spectacular national dancers, and Tchaikovsky’s best-loved pieces are a delight.

It might seem a little odd to traditionalists that there is no sugar plum fairy but this does not detract from the ballet as a whole.

By the time Marie awakes and we are transported back to the real world it feels like we, too, are being pulled from an enchanting dream of colour and imagination.

Christmas is a magical time of year for the whole family and seeing The Nutcracker in January just makes that magic last a little while longer.

JANE SULLIVAN