Listen carefully, can you hear it? It’s the distant tinkle of celestes, the faint rustle of sparkling tutus and the pitter-patter of fleet-footed fairies. It can mean only one thing: Christmas is just around the corner, and nothing quite sums up the magic and splendour of the season like a trip to the ballet. All across Australia a sumptuous glut of fantastical fare is on offer this December providing the perfect opportunity for a family outing full of festive cheer.

The Sleeping Beauty
Australian Ballet
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House
from November 27

Unquestionably the most lavish production of the year (perhaps even the decade), Australian Ballet Artistic Director David McAllister’s first full-length work for his company is an opulent and exquisitely detailed account of Tchaikovsky’s treasured ballet – and with a price tag somewhere in excess of $2 million it’s little wonder. With more gilded Rococo embellishments and glittering chandeliers than King Louis the XIV could shake a golden sceptre at, the
scale and grandiloquence of this production is breathtaking, but as you would expect
from the Australian Ballet, the...