CLASSICAL ballet takes centre stage again at the Winter Gardens when regular visitors the Vienna Festival Ballet present Swan Lake on Sunday, March 4.

Former ballerina Gill Mallek, whose husband Peter founded the company in 1989, said that since the Oscar-winning 2010 film Black Swan, interest in watching "the old favourite" has increased.

She said: "People come back again and again, especially to the magic three Tchaikovsky ballets: Swan Lake, The Nutcracker and Sleeping Beauty.

"Each season, there are new youngsters who weren't old enough to watch it last time, plus those who watch it again with new eyes as there are new costumes, new sets and new ballerinas and so it is even better than ever."

Tickets for Swan Lake cost between £17.50 and £9 (for dance schools), available from the Winter Gardens box office at www.margate wintergardens.co.uk or 01843 296111 and the performance begins at 5pm.