As far as ballet competitions go, there are few on an equal footing with The Fonteyn.

The annual event attracts “the finest young dancers from around the globe” to London and takes its name from Margot Fonteyn, a prima ballerina assoluta who spent her entire career with The Royal Ballet.

Vidya Cannonier-Watson’s teachers recommended she put her name forward.

The 17-year-old has spent months practising, most recently with Andrea Long, a former principal dancer with New York City Ballet.

While she would love to take the top spot, a win is not the only prize at stake in The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition.

There is the Choreographic Award, the Musicality Award and the Dame Margot Fonteyn Audience Choice Award.

Apart from that it offers an opportunity to dance in front of “a panel of expert and independent judges” chosen from across the industry: Dame Darcey Bussell, president of Royal Academy of Dance and a former principal with The Royal Ballet; Alessandra Ferri, artistic designer designate of Wiener Staatsballett and also a former principal with Royal Ballet; José Alves, former leading artist with Ballet Black; Kevin O’Hare, director of The Royal Ballet; Dame Monica Mason, vice-president of the Royal Academy of Dance and former director of The Royal Ballet; Ashley Page, choreographer and former artistic director of Scottish Ballet.

This weekend Vidya will learn whether she has made it into the finals of what the Royal Academy of Dance describes as its “flagship” event.

“It's held over the course of a week,” she explained. “The first few days, from Sunday to Tuesday, is just training and coaching with the many teachers that we're working with.”

Vidya was surprised when the likes of Alexander Campbell, a former principal with The Royal Ballet and now the artistic director of the Royal Academy of Dance, took over a lesson.

The dancers will be judged on three performances: an assigned variation; a solo selected from a list of 19th and 20th-century classical repertoires chosen by the Royal Academy of Dance; a choreographed work created on their own or with the help of a teacher. Dancers such as Vidya, who created their own piece, become eligible for the Choreography Award.

Sunday’s finals at His Majesty’s Theatre require dancers to perform a variation set by The Fonteyn.

“I've been preparing for this for most of our last term at school and the whole summer,” said Vidya, who is now preparing for her A-levels at Tring Park School in Britian.

“I'm not sure how many people initially tried out for it, but in our group, right now, there's 64 dancers. There's quite a few that are from my school but the dance world is so small that I've seen and met a lot of the other dancers before. It's such a small community.”

The competition is open to current members of the Royal Academy of Dance between the ages of 15 and 19 who have successfully passed their RAD Advanced 2 with distinction.

Vidya was thrilled to be accepted.

“I would love to win the competition, but I'm more here to be seen,” she said. “At the end of the day, you never know what they're really looking for. I do feel the pressure of being in an environment where everybody wants the same thing and I'm quite glad there's no toxic energy. This competition is so lovely, everyone's so kind.”

She is hoping that her time with Ms Long this summer will give her an edge.

“I started my training for this competition with the faculty at my school but over the summer, I have been getting some extra coaching with Andrea Long, an ex principal dancer of New York City Ballet. I met her in Harlem at the beginning of the summer, when I went for a three-week intensive at the Dance Theatre of Harlem.”

There was an instant connection as Vidya’s mother, Sophia Cannonier, danced with the famed company.

“My mom offered her to come to coach me for two weeks and she made serious improvements to how I'm feeling about this competition. I was kind of on my own for most of the summer and she really helped me out a lot with my confidence,” said Vidya.

The young dancer is hoping that the competition and the training before it will put her on good footing as she auditions for ballet schools in 2025.

“Coming to this competition there's also the opportunity to be seen by artistic directors and heads of upper schools, and you have to write, I think it's 150 words, about three places that you're interested in going. I chose English National Ballet, Royal Ballet and Dutch National Ballet for my three,” she said.

“I wrote about what attracts me to these schools and why I think they would be a good place for me. So I think that's also a really good opportunity. Even if you don't win, you're still being seen by people who could give you chances in the future.”

• For tickets, or more information on The Margot Fonteyn International Ballet Competition, visit www.thefonteyn.org/