The Russian Ballet Academy, a dance academy organised on a voluntary basis by a group of parents in Dublin, is in danger of closing down - a victim of its own success. The academy, which has bases in the College of Dance in Mary Street and in Sion Hill College, Blackrock, has lost a number of senior students in recent years because they have been accepted for further study by renowned European ballet schools.

With numbers falling to around 45 at present, the academy's future is now in doubt.

The Russian Ballet Company was formed five years ago and is staffed by fully qualified teachers of the Russian system of dance. It has brought teachers over from Russia to teach Irish students and offers tuition to professional level in classical ballet and repertoire to the highest international standards.

The current artistic director, Elena Bystritskaia, trained at the Vaganova Academy where she was leading soloist for 20 years. Before coming to Ireland, she was chief of vocational practice at the Perm State Chereographic Insitute.

Students at the academy here range in age from seven to 18 and former students are now attending ballet schools in Monte Carlo, Germany, Britain and Russia, including the Perm City Ballet.

The academy has never marketed itself, relying on word of mouth to attract students, according to Catherine Hogan, the RTE announcer and one of the organisers. But, she says, they now need to make more people aware of their activities.

The academy can take up to 60 students. Free trial classes are available for prospective students and admission to the various class levels is at the discretion of the artistic director. For details, phone the academy at (01) 295 1962 or 833 1406. Its website is at http://members.theglobe.com/ Cren1/ballet.htm