RALEIGH - You may not hear many people refer to former 49ers wide receiver Jerry Rice as an artist, but Fay Mitchell wants you to hear her make that case.

Mitchell, the director of "Artistry and Athletics," says she's been a longtime fan of both sports and dance but found many people either loved one or the other.

"I noticed as I was attending these events that there was not necessarily much overlap in terms of who was going," Mitchell says. "And each one offers such wonderful peak experiences that I thought it would be good to talk about what they have in common and maybe make people think about expanding their horizons."

Mitchell not only says dancers are athletes and many athletes are artists, but says that sports competitors can benefit from taking dance and vice versa.

"Rashard Mendenhall, a running back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, took dance. Steve McLendon, a big nose tackle for the Steelers, is taking dance classes as well," Mitchell says. "There are a lot of people who are picking up on how one can benefit from the other."

"Artistry and Athletics" includes interviews with sports figures such as Frank DeFord and dance experts such as Virginia Johnson. And Mitchell says her documentary benefits from having such a diverse array of interview subjects.

"I talked to someone in sports entrepreneurship and think of what dance could learn to gain from its popularity," she says.

Mitchell's documentary is not complete and she is starting an IndieGoGo campaign to complete the editing.

"I'm trying to do the fundraising so I can get the clips from major league sports," she says. "Oh my gosh, they are outrageously expensive."

For more information on Mitchell's documentary, you can go to artistryandathletics.com.