HAVING broken my ballet virginity with Tchiakovsky’s delightful Nutcracker in February, I decided to crank it up a gear at Bournemouth’s Pavilion Theatre with the daddy of high culture – Swan Lake.

By far the most popular of all the classical ballets, Swan Lake is another Tchiakovsky masterpiece.

Once again, for all those who shudder at the thought of spending two minutes, let alone two hours, watching ‘dancers prance about onstage’, I urge you to put your preconceptions to one side and give it a go.

If you do, the famous Moscow Ballet of Classical Choreography – or La Classique – version of Swan Lake will knock you for six.

For sure, it’s a deeper, darker, more brooding affair than the Nutcracker – but the performances by world-renowned soloists Nadezda Ivanova, Andrey Shalin and Dmitry Smirniv were sensational.

These highly skilled dancers created a stunning atmosphere that had the audience, a good mix of ballet fans and first-timers, begging for more.

The contrast between the lavish court sets and the bleak desolation of the lake was striking, and the ending – the happy alternative I’ve been told - was well appreciated. A tremendous evening.