Understanding how motivation works is important for teachers in any domain. The landscape for dance teaching is continuously evolving, and teachers are exploring effective ways to motivate and engage pupils in their dance classes. Knowing what works for pupils and why will influence an individual's initial choice to take part in dance sessions. Further evolution of these motives will encourage them towards longer-term adherence. In this position paper, we focus on the provision for schools' and extra-curricular dance classes in education settings, presenting social identity leadership (SIL) as a tool for teachers to consider when motivating pupils to dance. By focusing on this specific context, we situate the SIL model alongside self-determination theory (SDT), theory of reasoned action (TRA) and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to propose a new leadership-driven approach to motivation and pupil engagement in dance. We discuss applied implications on how the teacher can use SIL to initiate and maintain/enhance pupil involvement in curricular and after-school dance activities. Recommendations for future research are provided in order to optimise both knowledge and application of this important new approach.