Greencastle teen skates with the stars
A Greencastle girl rubbed blades, rather than shoulders, with Olympic medalists at the Giant Center in Hershey on March 18. Jordan Pizzarro, 17, joined 29 other youth figure skaters to perform with the greats during the Stars on Ice show “Dancing For Joy”.
“It was surreal,” Jordan said. “It went really well. There were no wipeouts and we were all on time.”
The opportunity arose when a Hershey-area figure skating club coordinated a project to bring the amateurs and professionals together. Jordan applied, and was accepted as the only teen from southcentral Pennsylvania.
She was in the presence of Meryl Davis and Charlie White, 2014 Olympic ice dancing champions in Sochi, Russia; Evan Lysacek, 2010 gold medalist in Vancouver; Ekaterina Gordeeva, 1988 and 1994 champion; and others. Davis, White and Lysacek were also on the ABC television program “Dancing With the Stars”.
Jordan nabbed several autographs. A couple of the pros coached the youth skaters during warm-ups.
The experience was a capstone after years of training. Jordan’s parents, Carl and Marcy Pizzarro, took her to the Hagerstown Ice and Sports Complex when she was eight, to have her try something different, and because Carl enjoyed skating through hockey.
Carl held her up initially, but within the hour, Jordan was skating on her own. She began lessons through the Learn to Skate program at Hagerstown Edge Skating Academy.
“It felt natural,” Jordan said. “I picked it up pretty quickly. But we did back crossovers, and then I got mad.”
She became a member of the US Figure Skating Association, and competed in events for several years. She placed at the top every time. That was then.
“I have really bad nerves,” Jordan admitted. “I just do it for fun now.”
Never mind that she just performed in front of a huge audience in a prominent arena. And it resulted in a new dream.
“I fell in love with ice dancing because of Meryl and Charlie,” Jordan said.
She plans to take tests to build up her credentials, and would like to teach skating some day. She continues to take lessons twice a week year round.
Jordan is a junior at Greencastle-Antrim High School and is involved in track, Peer Leaders, Student Council, College Ambassadors, Prom committee and National Honor Society. She would like a career as a physician in rehabilitation and sports medicine.
