A nostalgia trip to 1984. Courteney Coxthe popular Monica Geller from Friendssurprised his followers on social networks by recreating his famous dance in the music video of “Dancing in the Dark” by Bruce Springsteen. Four decades after that moment, the actress joined a trend of TikTok and Instagram to show off their dance moves.
The video, which was shared last Sunday, June 9, follows the famous trend of “How would you dance to this song in the 80s?”. In the clip, a text on the screen attaches the following phrase: I ask my mother how she danced in the eighties. The background music is “Smalltown Boy” by Bronski Beat.
As he begins to dance, Cox shows some discomfort, shaking his head as if something is wrong. Suddenly, a sound effect gives way to the actress’s “transformation”, as she takes off her jacket and reveals a t-shirt almost identical to the one she wore in the music video for “Dancing in the Dark”.
The music then switches to the energetic intro of the Springsteen song, and Courteney quickly finds the rhythm, with the steps that made her famous 39 years ago.
The story dates back to 1984, when Cox – who was barely 20 years old and had only worked two days on a soap opera – was selected to appear in the American rocker’s music video. How did she get it?
PEOPLE cites her interview for the program “Off Camera with Sam Jones” in 2017, where the actress recalled her audition for the video directed by Brian De Palma. Upon entering the casting room, she encountered numerous professional dancers, which made her doubt her place there due to her limited dance skills.
Despite her insecurities, it was precisely her clumsy and unorthodox style of dancing that the director was looking for. Filming for the video took place over two nights at the Saint Paul Civic Center in St. Paul, Minnesota.
In the video, Cox and two other actresses filmed a narrative around a concert, where one of them would be chosen by Springsteen to go on stage. Although Courteney wanted not to be selected to avoid dancing in front of 30,000 people, in the end it was she who ended up accompanying “The Boss” in the iconic sequence.
A PEOPLE article notes that Springsteen did not know that Cox was an actress chosen during casting. He thought she was just a fanatic. “I think that’s why I got it. “I think maybe they wanted a fan who just couldn’t believe it,” Courteney recalled.
This music video opened doors for him in the world of entertainment, and became a springboard for his career. The video of “Dancing in the Darkas she herself has pointed out in several interviews, began a series of opportunities that led her to important characters, such as Lauren Miller in Family Ties and eventually Monica Geller’s in Friends.
The actress previously told the magazine PEOPLE —about his movements in the original video— that it had not been “a good dance” on his part. But, despite his self-criticism, the recreation has been very well received by his followers as a nostalgic nod to the initial moments of his career.
It also coincides with the commemoration of the forty years of Born In The USA, Springsteen album of which “Dancing in the Dark” is the lead single.
