It’s the muttcracker! Enchanting snaps capture little girl ballet dancing with black poodle

This nimble Poodle can pirouette with the best of them as it performs a series of impressive dance moves alongside a young ballerina.

The jet black pup is pictured standing on one leg and leaping elegantly through the air with nine-year-old Maria Palkina, from Russia, by his side.

The enchanting images were taken by photographer, Andy Seliverstoff against some iconic backdrops including the Church of the Savior on Blood and the Admiralty building in Saint Petersburg.

The 59-year-old from Russia, said: “It’s not an easy task to photograph kids and dogs.

“And as a person who has been photographing dogs for the last 20 years, I’d say it’s more difficult to work with kids, especially children under the age of three.

“Before each shoot I have some new ideas but the great shots are usually a result of improvisation and luck.

“I’ve been keen on photography on an amateur level for my whole life and in the last 20 years I have been photographing dogs.

“I got interested in the ‘kids and dogs theme’ when I saw the works of Elena Shumilova and C.Murray who shoot their kids and dogs.