I To

Staff photo by Angie Bean

Regaining from page 19

her potential when she stopped."

A Natural Skater
Silverstein's potential emerged
in her native Pittsburgh when
her mother, a figure skating fan,
placed 3-year-old Jamie on the
ice alongside her three older
brothers, who played ice hockey.
"She took to it naturally; she
had a lot of flair:' Robin
Silverstein recalled. "She could
emote to the highest balcony, and
had a great feel for the music."
Over time, Jamie's involvement
with skating deepened, not only
because of her talent. A petite
brunette with a penetrating gaze,
Silverstein says skating made her
feel pretty and became her
instrument of expression.
"I'm not a person who feels
beautiful on a daily basis or that
there is a lot of beauty in the
world — but skating is beautiful
to me:' she said.
She became increasingly
engaged-in ice dancing as her
parents' marriage began to end.
Her after-school commitment to
training left no time to study for
a bat mitzvah. And, in 1995, she
moved to Detroit with her moth-
er to train with Shpilband, a
Moscow native and former junior
world champion who also coach-
es Belbin and Agosto. Her father,
Alan, now lives in Florida.
In Detroit, Jamie paired with
Justin Pekarek, and the two
became the "little darlings" of ice
dancing. In 1999, they won the
Junior World Championships and
were shoo-ins for the 2002
Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
By then, however, Silverstein
had also been affected by the
scrutiny placed on an athlete's
appearance and size, and by the
perception of what a dancer
should look like. She was suffer-
ing from anorexia.
She left the ices and sought
help in Detroit, but says it took
getting to Cornell, where she
studied world religions, "to help
me be honest with myself."
Today, she is healthy, and con-
tinues to consult with a nutri-
tionist. She says no food is "off
limits," and that protein is a
mainstay for an athlete. She also
is devoted to practicing yoga,
which helps her be aware of her
body and also calms her mind.
"Too few people take time for

20

February 9 • 2006

themselves:' she said., "But if you
don't concentrate on your own
wellness, everything around you
can fall apart!'
She even anticipates that
Shabbat and other aspects of
Judaism will gain prominence in
her life as she grows older, most
likely when she starts a family.
"But I believe in God:' she said.
"Right now, I am just trying to
be the best person I can be."
While talking about her eating
disorder "still takes an emotional
toll:' she says she speaks publicly
about it because she wants to
implore people to "find their own
voice, rather than do something
destructive."

Back On The Ice
Silverstein refers to her deci-
sion to return to skating as "a big
deal." In'addition to having to get
back into shape, she had to find a
new partner. "After everything I'd
been through, I didn't want a lot
of drama;' she said.
Fortunately, Shpilband had
just the person for her: Ryan
O'Meara, a Scottsdale, Ariz.,
native who also was training in
Canton and looking for a new
partner.
The duo had their work cut.
out for them. Because they were
a new pair, they had to compete
in numerous competitions to
achieve rankings that would
qualify them to compete interna-
tionally and vie for a spot on the
Olympic team. They typically
skate one or two hours a day,
then spend hours "off-ice" on
choreography, footwork and
technique.
In December, their efforts paid
off. At the U.S. National
Championships in St. Louis,
Silverstein and O'Meara won a
bronze medal and secured a tick-
et to Turin.
At that point, "life took on a
surreal quality," Silverstein said.
In the weeks heading into the
Games, she said, talk of the
Olympic village, where disparate
nations coexist in a show of
world unity and sportsmanship,
sounded like a utopian story.
"It's amazing how sport can
unite nations that are divided
from one another;' she said,
adding that she looks forward to
a reunion with Israeli ice dancing
pair Galit Chait and Sergei

Coach Igor Shpilband is glad Silverstein is back.

Sakhnovsky, who are expected to
place in the top 10.
Unlike Belbin and Agosto, or
the many top-seeded European
teams heading into the
Olympics, Silverstein and
O'Meara are not expected to win
a medal in Turin. While in Italy,.
Silverstein hopes to find a yoga
class and perhaps sightsee before
the closing ceremonies on Feb.
26.
"For us, it's just about per-
forming the best we can:' said
Silverstein, noting that the pair
will dance .a Latin program, a
contemporary tango and a com-
pulsory modern dance chosen by
the judges.
The stakes will be higher for
the two at the World
Championships in Calgary in
March. That competition is often
where many skaters set their
sights on the next Olympic
Games — 2010 in Vancouver.
Whether she continues to
skate, returns to college or fulfills
a fantasy to flood the Fisher
Theatre with water and turn it
into an "ice theater:' Silverstein is
grateful for the opportunity that
skating has given her to both
overcome her personal and pro-
fessional challenges.
"Lots of people dance at home
in their living rooms, and we get
to do it in front of thousands of
people.. I'm really blessed." 17

Young Jamie Silverstein took to the ice naturally.

Jamie Silverstein and Ryan O'Meara
will compete in their first event, the

compulsory dance, on Feb. 17, with

the original dance -and free dance to
be held Feb. 19 and 20, respectively.

O'Meara and Silverstein at a recent dinner