Dance in the buff? Dare, perhaps, to proceed (8)
I believe the answer is:
fandango
'dance' is the definition.
(fandango is a kind of dance)
'buff? dare perhaps to proceed' is the wordplay.
'buff?' becomes 'fan' ('fan' can be a synonym of 'buff').
'dare perhaps' becomes 'Dan' (comic book character Dan Dare).
'to proceed' becomes 'go' ('go' can be a synonym of 'proceed').
'fan'+'dan'+'go'='FANDANGO'
'in the' is the link.
(Other definitions for fandango that I've seen before include "Spanish courtship dance in triple time" , "Spanish Steps" , "Dance performed with castanets" , "Old Spanish dance in triple time" , "Spanish dance -- a dong fan (anag)" .)