A night at the ballet without any dancers? Sounds incongruous, but the Oxford Philomusica's festive offering at the Sheldonian last weekend was a joyous affair, full of passion, drama, humour and moments of great lyrical beauty - a real Christmas box of delights. Here were highlights from four magical, fairy-tale ballets, delivered with the orchestra's customary panache under the inimitable baton of Marios Papadopoulos.

First up was a section from Ravel's Mother Goose, a piece of great charm and simplicity, which started life as a piano duet for two students, and was intended to entice children into doing their ballet practice - a noble aim that apparently failed! There were no failures here, though, just a sensitive and polished performance. Taking us up to the interval was a well-chosen selection from The Sleeping Beauty, which arguably contains some of Tchaikovsky's most ravishing ballet music. The Philomusica treated us to a riveting and stirring performance, from the dramatic and exhilarating Rose Adagio to the dreamy Valse.

A change of style came after the interval with Prokofiev's Cinderella, including Cinderella's famous waltz and the unmistakeable arrival of midnight, all vividly recreated by the orchestra with a fine appreciation of Prokofiev's innovative and evocative score. Finally, it was back to Tchaikovsky with some of the most famous pieces from The Nutcracker, including the Russian, Arab and Chinese dances, the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy, the Dance of the Mirlitons and the exquisite Waltz of the Flowers, with the contrast between the different dances finely drawn. This was an exciting and vibrant evocation of this enchanting ballet, bringing to a close a thrilling evening that effectively captured the spirit of the ballet. Admittedly, there were times when I longed to see Aurora, Cinderella et al come and add that final touch of magic, but the orchestra produced plenty of magic of its own - this was a real Christmas cracker of a performance.