"The Dance" is a song written and composed by Tony Arata, and recorded by American country music singer Garth Brooks as the tenth and final track from his self-titled debut album, from which it was also released as the album's fourth and final single in April 1990. It is considered by many to be Brooks' signature song. In a 2015 interview with Patrick Kielty of BBC Radio 2, Brooks credits the back to back success of both "The Dance" and its follow up "Friends In Low Places" for his phenomenal success.

At the opening of the music video, Brooks explains that the song is written with a double meaning - both as a love song about the end of a passionate relationship, and a story of someone dying because of something he believes in, after a moment of glory.

The song's music video, directed by John Lloyd Miller, shows several American icons and examples of people who died for a dream. These include archive footage of the following:

It was awarded Video of the Year at the 1990 ACM Music Awards.

Released near the beginning of his career, "The Dance" was a big hit single around the world, including the United States, Europe, Ireland, etc., charting inside the British pop Top 40 [1]. In 1990, it was titled both Song of the Year and Video of the Year by the Academy of Country Music. It was awarded the #14 position in the CMT 100 Greatest Songs of Country Music broadcast in 2003 and also the #5 position on the network's The Greatest: 100 Greatest Music Videos special in 2004.

In a 1994 Playboy interview, Brooks said, "unless I am totally surprised, The Dance will be the greatest success as a song we will ever do. I'll go to my grave with The Dance. It'll probably always be my favorite song."

...
Wikipedia