CLASSICAL ballet takes centre stage at the Theatre Royal on Wednesday 20 October, when Vienna Festival Ballet make their welcome return.

'Coppelia' is probably the best known and most performed comedy ballets and is regarded as one of the jewels of classical ballet. Subtitled 'The Girl With Enamel Eyes', it is a love story infused with charm and comedy.

A classical ballet in three acts, 'Coppelia' was first performed at the Theatre Imperial de l'Opera, Paris in May 1870. With its beautiful music score by Delibes, 'Coppelia' is a captivating ballet for the whole family which combines imagination, passion, humour and the magic of dance.

The story follows the beautiful Coppelia, the creation of the eccentric toymaker Dr Coppelius, and is interwoven with the love life of the flirtatious Franz and his feisty fianc Swanilda.

Coppelia is an amazingly life-like clockwork doll that catches the eye of the young Franz and the mischievous toymaker decides to wind his mechanical daughter up to fool the smitten man into believing her to be real.

However, the joke backfires when Franz's fianc sees him flirting with Coppelia and becomes jealous. When Swanilda discovers the truth about Coppelia she sets out to teach both men a lesson.

The Vienna Festival Ballet, whose previous performances in St Helens include La Sylphide, The Nutcracker and Swan Lake, aims to provide young and talented dancers with the opportunity to perform great classical ballet around the world.

Founded by Austrian dancer and artistic director Peter Mallek, the company use young dancers to give a vitality, energy and freshness to every performance.

This production of 'Coppelia' offers glamorous costumes, beautiful sets and energetic performances by the dancers to bring the magic of ballet to life.

Tickets cost £16.50 for adults and £14.50 concessions, and are available from the Theatre Royal box office on 01744 756000.

For a chance to win one of three free pairs of tickets to see Coppelia at the Theatre Royal, just answer the question below:

Q What is the name of the toymaker in 'Coppelia'?

Send your entries with your name, address and telephone number to Coppelia competition, c/o Vicky Andrews, St Helens Star, YMCA Buildings, Duke Street, St Helens, WA10 2HZ. Closing date is Friday 15 October 2004.