Salva sis Aurelia Ovensa
Here are a couple of links of dancers from a mosaic at Aricia
http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_ima ... osaic1.jpg
http://www.vroma.org/images/mcmanus_ima ... osaic3.jpg
And also one from a relief at Aricia
http://www.indiana.edu/~c494troy/untitl ... tled-1.jpg
The last one shows a public event. The first two do not show us the context in which the dancers perform. There are some images of musicians playing in what looks like might be street scenes. Music was part of labor, as in many cultures, but then the
numen of a God or Goddess would be called upon to assist in any labor. We would not really know how Romans thought about it; that is, the role of music in such circumstances. The Gods were not separated from the Romans but included in everything they did. And after work music and dance probably played a role, too, as in any culture. But the Gods were also assumed to play a part in that.
Dance purely for entertainment? We can't say with certainty, but it seems it would have been an alien concept to the Romans. One dances becauses he or she feels the presence of a deity, is inspired by a deity, while dance is also a way to experience the Gods. I don't think you can separate the two out where dance would be solely a human activity intended to entertain humans. That's true in other cultures as well. You don't dance unless it is a prayer to the Gods, inspired by the Gods. I can't think of American Indians or Australian Aborigines or Africans dancing out of pure fun of dancing. Polynesian dance, Indian dance, Sotheast Asian dance all are a means of telling sacred myths. The dance of the Seven Veils might be entertaining for some to watch, but its origin is also in a sacred myth, that of the descent of Ishtar into the Underworld, and would not have been performed outside of a religious context.
If dance was used as a "recreational activity" one place to look might be in the recommendations of Greek doctors. In some case, I recall, they did advise people to take in the baths, engage in athletics and horseback riding. They may have, but I don't recall, them advising people to dance for the sake of recreational activity to benefit their health.
Vale optime