This wonder work, like all the old classics, survives because of its potential for constant reinterpretation and variation.

Vienna Festival Ballet last time brought us Fabrice Gibert's happy take. This time their presentation came from Sheila Styles and she, too, ensured the humorous content, she gave us a production enjoyable to look at, and she exploited the element of wonder and the possibility of magic.

Clara, one of the hosts' children at the family party, exclusively receives a nutcracker doll as a gift from the peculiar Drosselmeyer, a family friend with a mysterious power invested in him by his creator. And his creator is the fantasy storyteller ETA Hoffman, who wrote the original story (The Nutcracker and the Mouse King) that provided the inspiration for French choreographer Petipa and Russian composer Tchaikovsky in St Petersburg.

Styles has Drosselmeyer seeming to orchestrate just about everything, once he arrives in simple green tailcoat and silk scarf but with a more than a few tricks up his sleeve. His special powers even enable a decrepit granny to shed her years and immobility during the guests' communal Minuet. And he is there at the end, revealing that Clara's visit to the Kingdom of Sweets was his own device, whether a dream or not.

The VFB's dancing forces are lean. They have only three boys. Returning principal, Martin Howland, 30, told me that although the film Billy Elliott has inspired more to take up dance, they are gravitating towards musicals and few have the physical strength, stamina and, maybe, discipline to increase significantly the numbers of boys in ballet.

So while Howland was occupied all night as the princely incarnation of the Nutcracker, capable newcomer Carl Hale had to treble as Drosselmeyer's soldier doll, the Mouse King and a single Trepak dancer, while Gledis Tase had to treble as Drosselmeyer, and the male in the Arabian Dance, then in the Waltz of the Flowers. Tase is an emerging artiste with VFB and this workload meant at the end he had to rip through two changes of costume in what seemed like about 90 seconds.

Tase was encouraged to emphasise in Drosselmeyer a slightly demonic eccentricity and with some unnnerving eye work. This was sometimes momentarily exaggerated to the point of projecting his character as almost deranged, and that was a test of credibility because the children at the party would surely have been too frightened to join in his games.

This apart, however, and his lack of height, Tase carried the night with distinction. He has a sound technique and likewise Howland, whose grand pas de deux variation did not disappoint, and another newcomer, Melanie Cox, with whom Howland is gelling into the VFB's front partnership.

All three radiate enjoyment. Cox's movement, line, mime and gesture had clarity and her solo challenges were all within her compass. But she also doubled the Sugar Plum Fairy, which precluded scope for this character to do much more than pop in for the grand pas de deux. Her own variation, to the famous celeste tune, was assured.

This is a tour of swiftly erected one-nighters - 60 in 65 days, incidentally, this troupe are performing around the country - so the domestic house setting of the action was not an opulent, nor a populous, one.

There were few minor characters to make Act 1 a mass people-watch but there was enough incidental interest, especially in Claire-Anne Elliott's Fritz, brother of Clara. She was up to everything mischievous. No sooner had she been chastised than she smiled her way out of trouble and straight into more. If anything, she eclipsed Gibert's Fritz.

Costumes, like the household were quite modest except, in particular, new Mirlitons tutus in crimson velour and shocking pink - colours no strangers to sweet wrappers, after all - and a truly smashing set of snowflake dresses that, against a misty moon backdrop, finely lit, clinched Styles' snow world transition from the midnight battle mice & rats versus toy soldiers and the transformation of Nutcracker into Prince, to the Sugar Plum Fairy's world of confectionary.

The lack of boys meant only the Arabian and Trepak were not all-female, but in truth, only the Spanish Dance was markedly bereft.

But I return to my opening idea. Christmas is not about diamonds and pearls for everyone. It can be celebrated in Nutcracker without that. Indeed, over-dressed and bejewelled households tend to distract the audience from Drosselmeyer and his importance. Hale's excellent, leaping cossack needed no restrictive bling but even so, the other national dances were not wanting for brilliant colour or impact.

And the power of sound system took us right into Tchaikovsky's marvellous orchestration in this superb recording used by the VFB. If there was a question on the night - a choice of live orchestra or tape - I am tempted this time to have said the latter. The evening had genuine fizz and elan because of it.

Reachable-from-Worthing venues left on the tour: Dec 8 at Mowlem Theatre, Swanage (2.30 & 7.30), Dec 11 at Medina Theatre, Newport, Isle of Wight (7.30).