When I found out that Bruce Springsteen was going to be performing in Dallas for NCAA March Madness Festival, I knew that the time had come to fulfill my true destiny: to get pulled up onstage and dance with Bruce Springsteen during "Dancing in the Dark." I come to you today not as your Clubs Editor, but as simply a woman, a woman with a wish. I need your help to make this wish come true.
This week, I am starting the #princesainthedark Twitter campaign (the name of which is a reference to my own Twitter handle and longtime nickname, Pronail Princesa). My goal, is to get the attention of the increasingly social media-active Mr. Springsteen, in hopes that he will make my wildest of dreams come true (no weird stuff though, just dancing). Below, I have listed the five tenets of my campaign. If you believe in dreams, and in my most heartfelt and genuine intentions, please help me by tweeting your messages in favor and support of my mission to @springsteen and @pronailprincesa, with the hashtag #princesainthedark. Let's make some magic happen, y'all! You can't start a fire without a spark, am I right?
It would be a girlhood dream fulfilled. When I was a little girl, I was obsessed with music videos. Back when MTV and VH1 would actually play them, I would sit and watch music videos for hours. I was fascinated with the medium, and the way it helped a song seem to come to life. When I saw the video for "Dancing in the Dark" for the first time, it resonated with me pretty deeply. I recognized the handsome devil before me from the cover of one of my mom's favorite albums, Darkness on the Edge of Town, but this didn't sound anything like that. This Bruce Springsteen was more poppy, upbeat and fun than the one that I had known, and he was the most dreamy thing I'd ever seen at that point. When he flashed those pearly whites at a young Courtney Cox, and motioned for her to hop up on that stage with him, I experienced what it is to swoon for the first time, and thought to myself, "Why, God? Why not me?"
I am an amazing dancer. I was very fortunate to be raised by a set of extremely hip parents. From as far back as I remember, we were more likely to break into living room dance parties together than we were to sit around the television in silence. Because of this, I was dancing before I could walk. Being the '80s new-wave hipsters my parents were, they naturally taught me how to dance by doing the Molly Ringwald. To this day, it is the most instinctive way for me to move to music. The swing of my hips, the bowing of my elbows, the snapping of my fingers, the step-ball-change -- it's second nature to me, and I look damn good doing it.
Bruce Springsteen would love me. In theory, Bruce and I have a lot in common. Though I've lived in Texas most of my life, my people and I hail from the Midwest. My dad was a Teamster, and I have always related to the themes of blue-collar Yankee plight that fill The Boss' extensive catalogue. We are both pro-marriage equality. We're both often spotted wearing T-shirts and skin-tight, high-waisted, dark-wash denim jeans. We're both really good at selfies. He's even got a daughter around my age. I'm sure after chopping it up backstage for a few minutes, he'd probably think, "Hey, that broad's alright!"
It would really mean a lot to my mother. Mama Q, as she's often referred to, has loved Bruce Springsteen since she was a teenager. When she was in high school, she would go spend weekends in the city with her sister Nadine and brother-in-law Jerry. Jerry was extremely influential to my mom's musical tastes, and was the first person to introduce her to Springsteen. If I'm not mistaken, he was the one who gave her that copy of Darkness On the Edge of Town that she still has to this day. Even after he and my aunt divorced, Jerry and my mom always remained in close correspondence and maintained a strong bond through their love for music (a hereditary trait in my bloodline). Last month, Jerry lost a long battle with terminal illness. Seeing her only daughter dance onstage with Springsteen would make my mother think fondly of her dear friend and family member, and I can't think of a more fitting tribute to his legacy. RIP Uncle Jer, we love you.
If I can make this happen, anything is possible. Everybody loves these viral campaigns to make a farfetched dream come true because they remind us that something extraordinary can happen to a perfectly ordinary person, breaking up the mundanities of everyday life. I'm not just pushing this campaign for my own selfish indulgence, I'm doing this for all the little girls who swooned for the first time watching the "Dancing in the Dark" video, for all the little girls who used to dance around at family cookouts to "Rosalita," for all the little girls who were both creeped out and confusingly aroused by "I'm On Fire." Princesa is for the people, especially the lady people. If you help me spread this campaign and make it to that stage, I won't just be dancing for Bruce -- I'll be dancing for us all.
To help make Vanessa's wish come true, tweet your support to @springsteen and @pronailprincesa with the hashtag #princesainthedark. Follow @DC9AtNight to see how this crazy plan plays out.
