Two beautiful ballets are helping families get into the festive spirit this month.

The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, both performed by Crown Ballet, are coming to the Central Theatre in Chatham for a double bill of dance.

The jam-packed programme begins with a performance of The Nutcracker at 2pm.

This heart-warming Christmas ballet is one of Tchaikovsky's most well-known works, based on E T A Hoffmann’s short story The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.

The production follows Clara as she joins her Nutcracker prince in the Land of Sweets and meets tin soldiers, mice and the Sugar Plum Fairy along the way.

The ballet was first performed in 1892 in Saint Petersburg and has been recreated by countless contemporary dance companies.

The afternoon showing will be followed by a second performance from the dance company at 7pm that evening.

Swan Lake, which is known for being one of the most successful ballets of all time, is being reimagined by Crown Ballet.

The story follows Prince Siegfried who meets and falls in love with Odette, a Swan Queen who is under the spell of an evil sorcerer and can only become human at nightfall.

The sorcerer uses Odette’s curse to trick the prince into marrying his own daughter, Odile, breaking Odette’s heart and trapping her in the spell forever.

Despite not being an initial success upon its debut in 1877, Tchaikovsky’s ballet has now become one of the most well-known in the world.

The story even inspired the Hollywood blockbuster Black Swan, starring Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis and Winona Ryder.

The Nutcracker and Swan Lake will be performed at Chatham’s Central Theatre on Sunday, November 19.

You can book tickets online or by calling 01634 338338.