HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, March 6— She is the Michael Jordan of figure skating, a dazzling athlete of uncommon skill who performs at a level unattained by many skaters, unattainable by most others.

''I remember watching her in practice last year,'' said Jill Trenary, a three-time American champion. ''I was in awe of how high she jumps. I didn't expect her to be as good as she was.''

And now, as the women's competition of the 75th world figure skating championships begins Wednesday, Midori Ito of Japan may be even better.

In the year since she won the 1989 world title in Paris, she has found ways to bring her artistic scores closer in line with the typically high technical marks that reflect the difficulty of her programs. Last year, she became the first - and remains the only - woman to complete a triple-axel jump, the only triple in which the skater takes off from a forward position, spinning three and half times in the air before landing. Her free skating program includes that little trick, five other kind of triples, seven triples altogether.

Even if she were to falter this week, losing to Trenary or Evelyn Grossmann of East Germany, the European champion, or another of the 29 women competing, Ito's absence from the victory podium would appear to be only temporary.

This is the last major tournament to include compulsory figures, an exercise in which skaters cut loops on the ice and trace them twice. They count for 20 percent of a skater's overall score, which makes them not unimportant.

She'll Miss Compulsories

Compulsories are the weakest of Ito's skills, and their passing would be like telling Jordan he had to play only offense.

''In training, I spend about two-thirds of my time on the figures,'' she said at a crowded news conference on Monday. ''So I will sort of miss them as part of my life. But I will not miss them in the actual event.''

She smiled as she spoke, and that has always been part of her charm since she burst into international prominence at the 1988 Calgary Olympics, where Katarina Witt of East Germany won her second consecutive singles title. After placing 10th in compulsories, Ito skated the fourth-best short program and third-best freestyle to finish fifth over all. At the conclusion of her performance, the audience was on its feet, roaring. Ito, smiling and waving, was so overwhelmed, she left the ice by the wrong exit.

Later that year in Budapest, she had her best finish in four world championship appearances, finishing sixth. Then last year came her breakthrough.

With Witt and most of the other past Olympians retired from competition, Ito soared to new heights, winning the world title to earn uncommon prominence for a 19-year-old daughter of ordinary Japanese citizens. Upon her return home to Nagoya, she found herself a frequent target of admiring, sometimes intrusive fans, wanting handshakes, autographs, even pictures.

Invitation to Meet Emperor

In June, she was invited to meet Emperor Akihito, a rare honor for athletes other than sumo wrestlers. By the end of the year, she was regarded as something between a national hero and a shrine, her victory earning recognition as Japan's top athletic performance of 1989.

''I could not even go to a doughnut shop without people recognizing me,'' she said through a translator.

She is five months short of her 21st birthday, just 4 feet 9 inches, but chunky at 97 pounds. Her legs are unusually thick and are the power source of her remarkable jumps. And, can she jump. The ability became apparent not long after she discovered skating, at the age of 4. The first time she stepped onto a rink, in Nagoya, she spotted Machiko Yamada in the middle, giving a lesson. Ito wobbled over and said she, too, would like to learn. Today, Yamada is still her coach.

In the 1981 world junior championships, she completed three triple jumps, an unheard of accomplishment for an 11-year-old, to win the free skating and finish eighth over all. Four years later, she landed five triples in competition.

A Quick Study in Jumping

''As a child, I could master the jumps,'' Ito said. ''Jumps that took others three hours to learn in practice, I learned in an hour and a half.''