Treat your students like artists. Teaching dance as art is a matter of refocusing what you are already teaching so that students know what they are doing is art, and more importantly, why it is art. At the beginning of class, ask your students, "What Is Art?" Ask them what about those things makes them art. Then link it to your dance class. Is what you're doing art? Why or why not? What is an artist? Are they artists? Beginning class in this context sets the stage for students to open their eyes to the many artistic concepts they're learning in class.
Throughout class, comment and pose questions that will remind students of factors such as color, space relationship, line and composition. For example, if you're practicing turns, ask the students, "If two people are dancing onstage and turning towards each other, what could that mean? What if they were turning away from each other? What to you think the story of this dance is? If the dancers were dressed in red during this song, how would that make you feel as an audience member? What about blue?"
Supplement your curriculum by using visual aids related to what you're teaching and posing questions at the end of class. For example, if you're teaching tap, bring a picture of Fred Astaire, preferably doing a very dynamic move. Ask the class to consider what this dance is about. What do they think of this dance? What do they think of the picture itself? If you get general responses, like "I don't like it," ask what it is about the dance or image they don't like. How does this dance make them feel? How do they think the dancer wants them to feel?
Prepare a CD with snippets of music conveying different emotions. Ask the children to dance accordingly. Let them decide if it's happy, sad or surprising music. Point out that it's fine if they don't agree with each other on what emotion the music conveys. What seems surprising to one may seem scary to another. That is part of art.
Role-play a rehearsal. The first time, you can be the director so the students catch on to the concept. Give your volunteers a storyline to create a dance from. For example, you're on the playground and you notice your friend is very sad. You try to get him to play, but he doesn't want to. What happens next?
Give the volunteers a few minutes outside the classroom to choreograph their dance. When they perform, tell them what you liked about the performance. This demonstrates strong critiquing skills to the class. Then, change something about the dance or story. What if the little boy is sad because he has something to tell his friend? Ask the students to perform a chunk of the dance with that in mind, then ask the class what they think of the changes. When you repeat this exercise, the students can take turns playing director themselves with your guidance.