TWO fabulous ballets are coming to Bristol and the Gazette has special tickets to the shows to be won.

Ellen Kent & Ballet International comes to the Bristol Hippodrome on Monday, February 18 - Saturday 23 with Grigorovich's Nutcracker and Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty.

Take this rare chance to catch the breathtakingly spectacular famous 1966 Moscow production of the Nutcracker directed by one of Moscow's finest, Yuri Grigorovich, for 30 years the director of the world-famous Bolshoi Ballet.

Also coming is the ballet widely regarded as the greatest of Russian Ballets, Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty. Including a large, live orchestra and starring the outstanding Kristina Terentieva - winner of the Grand Prix International Dance Competition, Vienna 2007.

Grigorovich's Nutcracker - a classic Christmas story about a girl swept away to a magical dream world is full of Tchaikovsky's memorable music - Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, Waltz of the Flowers, Russian Dance and Decoration of the Christmas Tree March.

Sleeping Beauty is here played with Marius Petipa's original choreography. The ballet features stunning sets and costumes and Tchaikovsky's magnificent music is wonderfully woven into the celebrated Perrault story.

This spectacular ballet masterpiece, used by Disney in his famous cartoon version, transforms Charles Perrault's classic fairy tale into a bright and overwhelmingly joyful ballet full of wonderful treasures: the Lilac Fairy, the rose Adagio - a great testing piece for a ballerina - the bluebird and a cast of fairy tale characters gathered for the sparkling final wedding celebration.

Ellen Kent has the exclusive rights to tour Yuri Grigorovich's version of The Nutcracker in Britain. The production had not been seen in the UK since the early 1970s until Ellen Kent & Ballet International first brought it back to this country.

For more details about how to win tickets, see the Gazette on Thursday.