Eagan's Becky Krueger is, Literally, a Mover and a Shaker

To say ice skating made Eagan’s Becky Krueger who she is today is true on a number of levels.

Krueger, who has been skating since she was five years old, can boast many accomplishments. She tested into the figure skating gold level through the United States Figure Skating Association, and into the silver level in ice dancing. She  has served as a coach and a judge at world competitions through the Ice Skating Institute and was, for a time, the director of the Eagan Skate School.

She also met her husband through the activity. David Krueger, a hockey player who needed help with his stops, hired Becky to advise him on his technique.

He ended up proposing to her on the ice at the Eagan Civic Arena. 

After their son was born, Becky took belly dancing classes to get out of the house and get back into shape. She found it utilizes the torso, shoulders and hips, and "really works the core and is coordination-intense."

She fell in love with the movement and artistry and soon found herself performing and entering talent competitions. In 2008, Krueger won the semi-finals competition at the Minnesota State Fair and performed at the grandstand. 

Krueger said a misconception exists that belly dancing is a dance for men. In reality, she says, the dance form came from the Middle East where the sexes were segregated; belly dance is a traditional women's dance used for celebrations. 

These days, she performs at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival with a belly dance troop called the Sisters of the Sahara. She also dances at in Eagan, under the stage name Nasheeta. 

Krueger said she chose that name because "dancing makes me feel really joyful, so I chose a name that means 'happy, joyful' in Arabic, and came up with Nasheeta."

Becky and David, who works for Thomson Reuters, recently moved back to Eagan so their son, Marcellus, can attend Deerwood Elementary. They also have a 4-month-old daughter, Persephone. 

She also teaches group and private skating and ice dance lessons during open skate times at the Eagan ice rink, working with all types of skaters - from beginners and those wanting to ace their hockey tryouts to folks like Shelby Jacobsen, who skates for the Minnesota Valley Figure Skating Club.

Jacobsen's jump technique had been inconsistent and she wasn't making as much progress as she wanted. She hired Krueger to help her and after a month of coaching is overhauling her technique. 

Krueger currently is taking new private skating students.

She also is taking registrations for a beginning belly dance class that starts on Sept. 13 and will run for eight Tuesday evenings. The class is open to women of any age who want to try something new, have fun, get into shape and have a flatter stomach.

She also is offering an intermediate belly dance class the same evenings. 

Krueger says she also is "available to perform a show and/or teach belly dance at special events such as birthdays, bridal showers, baby showers, cultural events, retirement parties, corporate parties and for bellygrams."

For more information, her website is bellydanceronice.com.