The leading ballet schools are the nurseries of our national ballet companies, and one goes to them in fear and trembling. An 18-year-old graduate can't be compared to an established principal, and yet you can hope to see flashes of the kind of exceptional talent that made Darcey Bussell, Alessandra Ferri, Tamara Rojo, Carlos Acosta, Sarah Wildor, Beryl Grey and Margot Fonteyn recognisable star material in their teens.

Darcey Bussell, Jonathan Cope, Marianela Nuñez and Nunn are just some of those who first came to attention during these matinees. Four of the six choreographers whose works were on view, Christopher Wheeldon, Cathy Marston, Alastair Marriott and Jennifer Jackson, are also former RBS participants. Together, they and their student dancers helped to turn this into one of the most pleasant, professional and just plain enjoyable matinees in recent memory.

They haven't completely died out - British dancers, that is. Our three leading ballet companies, taken together, can still boast six British-born principals: three in Birmingham, two at Covent Garden and one with the English National Ballet. You'll find more Brits among the soloists, but long gone are the days when most of our dancers were locally born and bred.