Senior Alexandra Farber is no ordinary Whitman student. She doesn’t take countless AP classes, participate in school extracurriculars or attend sporting events. While her peers are standing in class, sitting on the bleachers or gossiping in the cafeteria, Farber is on stage pursuing her passion for dance, performing with the Maryland Youth Ballet.

Farber, who began taking ballet classes at age three, showed a passion for dance from a young age and has performed with the Maryland Youth Ballet for eight years.

“My mom enrolled me into ballet classes just like any other little girl,” she said. “I just never stopped because I really loved it.”

For Farber, a typical weekday schedule entails going to school for the first two periods, and then going straight to Hebrew tutoring for an hour twice a week. At 12:15 p.m., she drives to Silver Spring to practice with the Maryland Youth Ballet, and from 2:30 to 7:00 she participates in classes in variations, pointe and stretch to improve her technique. Farber practices for five hours on weekends, for an average of about 20 hours of practice a week.

“Nobody at Whitman knows who I am because I’m never here,” she said.

This month, Farber will perform in her final Maryland Youth Ballet as the Sugar Plum Fairy in the”Nutcracker,” which is the highest possible honor that a dancer can receive, said Maryland Youth Ballet principal and Farber’s teacher Michelle Lee. The performances run Dec. 17-27 at the Montgomery College Performing Arts Center.

“She really became a performer, and her presentation has always been beautiful,” Lee said. “Very few students have that gift and talent.”

Farber does share one similarity with an average senior: concerns about college admissions. Knowing that ballet was going to consume her senior year schedule, she decided to take an eight period day freshman year. This year, however, she’s only taking Honors English and Honors Calculus and is worried that not all colleges will accept that her commitment to dance has at times taken precedence over school.

“Whitman is very competitive – many students are taking like, five APs,” she said. “In all of my written applications, I’ve talked about my commitment to dance.”

Guidance counselor Jamie Ahearn met with Farber in September to discuss how she would balance dance with school work. Ahearn said that while writing her college recommendations, she explained Farber’s dedication and passion for the activity.

“She came to us from a dance background,” Ahearn said. “We are trying to support her passion and her academics.”

All of the schools that Farber applied to have strong dance programs and are in cities that have strong arts and dance communities. Her top choice, Bryn Mawr, located outside of Philadelphia, offers dance in a less competitive atmosphere.

“I want to pursue it as a passion on the side,” she said.

Farber plans on studying the sciences and psychology in college. But in terms of a professional career, she’s not sure whether or not she will choose the dance or psychology path.

“She does have the talent to become a professional,” Lee said.