Im looking for advice in developing presentation/stage performance in my dance students, not just on stage but also during class time. I want my students to show their love of dance and not just paste on a fake smile that usually fades after the first 2 seconds of the dance!
Suggestions??

I tell them: "Imagine your boyfriend / favourite actor or singer / etc is sitting in this room now. You don't want him to look at the rest. You want him to see you and only you. MAKE him look at you."

I always tell my students not to forget that what their face is doing is as important as what their feet are doing! I don't think you need a fake pasted on smile but your face should reflect the music. try a few improv exercises such as having them dance sadly, or excitedly and tell them not to forget to include their face as part of their body!

I agree with the previous posts. Improv in class would probably be helpful. I teach mostly ballet and I start performance quality in class. When I teach exercises like port de bras I tell them to imagine they are telling a story with their movement. Then we do it trying different emotions. It seems to really help my dancers. I also have a small miming section during the reverence at the end of class. I do this with even my littlest ballerinas. Its never too early to start learning performance quality!!!

As we're finishing a performance piece, I generally take time out for us to sit and discuss the dance. I ask my dancers what colors they see when they listen to the music and what they feel like their relationships are with the other dancers when they work with them within the context of the dance. I try to find out if there are any locations or images that the dance reminds them of and what experiences in their own lives remind them of the mood of the dance. Generally they love doing this and borrowing from each other's inspirations. Sometimes it turns into a real brainstorming session.

Basically, what I am trying to say is that once they are able to really have a clear visual connection to the dance and story it doesn't take much effort to get them to perform it. They feel like the dance 'belongs to them'.

This tends to work with younger and older kids as well as both peppy and moody dances. They don't necessarily want to perform my vision of the dance. They want to know for themselves what they are doing and why they are doing it.

Hope that helps!

I'm not sure what age of students you are talking about, but with very young students I teach mime and play acting using different pieces of music. For performance level students I will have them close their eyes, and relax while I play them a piece of music (I always do this with the recital dance) then we discuss the mood of the piece.