"Dancing in the Dark" is a song written and performed by American rock singer Bruce Springsteen.

Springsteen wrote "Dancing In the Dark" overnight, after Jon Landau convinced him that the album needed a single.

It sums up his state of mind, his feeling of isolation after the success of his album The River, and his frustrations of trying to write a hit single.

Six takes of "Dancing in the Dark" were recorded on February 14, 1984, at The Hit Factory, and after 58 mixes, work was completed on March 8, 1984.

[7][8] Cash Box said that the song "is classic Springsteen: gutsy vocals set to a hard-driving backbeat" and "an added surprise is the addition of the synthesizer to the inspired playing of the E-Street Band.

[18] In 2024, the song was re-popularized by English soccer fans during the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament who sang it with adapted lyrics paying tribute to midfielder Phil Foden.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performed the song twice during that show to allow De Palma to get all the footage he needed.

Although De Palma had told him that it was she whom he was supposed to select, Springsteen thought she was just a pre-selected fan attending and did not know until afterward[23] that she was a professional actress, brought in from New York City, who had already played in As the World Turns.

Actor Alfonso Ribeiro later claimed to have drawn inspiration from Cox's dancing in the video in developing "The Carlton" for his character in The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

When played live in recent years, the song features a harder, guitar-driven sound, with the distinctive synthesizer riff being supplied by Soozie Tyrell's violin.

[32] According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon, and the album's liner notes:[33][34] (*Car-shaped picture disc released in the UK, featuring a pink Cadillac on the front side)