Dancing in the Dark is a 1931 American song with music by Arthur Schwartz and lyrics by Howard Dietz. It was introduced in the Broadway revue The Band Wagon, performed by John Barker with dancer Tilly Losch. The first recording, by Bing Crosby with Victor Young’s Studio Orchestra on August 19, 1931, peaked at a high of 3 on the charts and helped make the tune a lasting standard. A famous 1941 version by Artie Shaw and His Orchestra, arranged by Lennie Hayton, earned Shaw one of his eight gold records.
The song is a lush, romantic ballad that became part of the Great American Songbook and was prominently used in the 1953 MGM musical The Band Wagon, where Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse perform a sensuous ballet in Central Park, in an arrangement by Conrad Salinger and choreography by Michael Kidd. Since then it has been covered by many artists across jazz and pop, including Charlie Parker, Sarah Vaughan, Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, and Jane Monheit.
