Aged between 15 and 18, dancers from around the world are put through their paces during a gruelling week of tests. Finalists must prepare a classical and contemporary "variation" (a set piece from the established repertoire) in front of a jury.

Only the most successful dancers actually perform these carefully rehearsed pieces in front of an audience; the vast majority are weeded out during the early stages of the event, which consists of actual dance classes and is closed to the public. Tickets for the public performance on the Saturday or the final on the Sunday are a must for any balletomane, who can spot the big names of dance in the audience, either cheering on their protégées or scouting for new talent.

Both performances are a real experience - they can be trying on the nerves and clapping is strictly forbidden (so as not to disturb the candidates). In reality, the volume of murmurs in the auditorium after each variation is a fair gauge of success: on the rare occasions when prodigies have been discovered, the theatre has erupted into ecstasies of stifled cheers, rapidly hushed by the public-address system.

The Sunday final, a more glamorous affair, culminates in the award of generous bursaries. Testuya Kumakawa and Carlos Acosta, both former winners, went on to wow the audience of the Royal Ballet with their spectacular leaps.