The Russians are back with two classic ballets, Giselle and Swan Lake.

And if past visits are anything to go by, ballet fans are in for a treat with fabulous costumes and exciting dancing.

Moscow City Ballet was founded in 1988 by distinguished Russian choreographer Victor Smirnov-Golovanov and was an immediate hit in Russia and the UK, where it has clocked up more than 1,000 performances since it first visited ten years ago.

The opening production in Brighton is Giselle, the traditional tale of love and betrayal to music by Adolphe Adam.

Country girl Giselle is in love with a handsome suitor but he is a prince and she discovers he is engaged to a grand Duchess.

The poor girl goes off to join the Willis of the forest, girls who have been jilted. At her graveside, a remorseful suitor is forced to dance until he dies but the adoring Giselle rises to save him.

In Swan Lake, Tchaikovsky came with perhaps the most sublime score in ballet history. This folkish story of love and death was Tchaikovsky's forest ballet score and was commissioned by the Bolshoi Theatre who gave him an 800-rouble advance.

At the premier, there were complaints at the symphonic Moscow City Ballet complexities of the score but this has since become the number one ballet in the world.

Moscow City Ballet aims to bring the heritage of Russian ballet to a much wider audience. Smirnov-Golovanov presents a mixture of his own interpretations along with the traditional readings of the repertoire.

I have seen the company on several occasions and can vouch for its quality both in the dance and in the music. Ballet first got to me via the music but, thanks largely to this company, the dancing too has won me over.

Giselle and Swan Lake provides the ideal opportunity for fans and newcomers to get hooked on a marvellous art form that cannot but thrill and delight.

Giselle can be seen on Monday and Tuesday evenings at 7.45pm and Swan Lake on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday in the evening, also at 7.45pm, with matinees on Thursday and Saturday at 2.30pm. For tickets, call 01273 328488.