Madonna has paid tribute to her brother Christopher Ciccone describing him as “the closest thing to me for so long” after he died at the age of 63.
Her brother who was an an artist, dancer and designer, who appeared in her music videos such as Lucky Star, art directed her Blond Ambition World Tour and served as tour director for The Girlie Show tour, died on Friday in Michigan after being diagnosed with cancer.
In a post on Instagram, Madonna said Ciccone was in “so much pain towards the end”.
“He was the closest human to me for so long, it’s hard to explain our bond.
“But it grew out of an understanding that we were different and society was going to give us a hard time for not following the status quo.
“We took each other‘s hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood, in fact dance was a kind of superglue that held us together.
“Discovering dance in our small Midwestern town saved me and then my brother came along, and it saved him too, my ballet teacher, also named Christopher, created a safe space for my brother to be gay, a word that was not spoken or even whispered where we lived.
“When I finally got the courage to go to New York to become a dancer, my brother followed, and again we took each other’s hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City.
“We devoured Art and Music And Film like hungry animals, we were in the epicentre of all of these things exploding.
“We danced through the madness of the Aids epidemic.
“We went to funerals and we cried, and we went dancing.
“We danced together on stage in the beginning of my career and eventually, he became my creative. director of many tours.
“When it came to good taste, my brother was the Pope, and you had to kiss the ring to get his blessing.
“We defied the Roman Catholic Church, the police, the moral majority and all authority figures that got in the way of artistic freedom.
“My brother was right by my side, he was a painter a poet and a visionary, I admired him.
“He had impeccable taste. And a sharp tongue, which he sometimes used against me but I always forgave him.
“We soared the highest heights together, and floundered in the lowest lows.
“Somehow, we always found each other again and we held hands and we kept dancing.”
Ciccone fell out with his sister in 2008, following the release of bestselling autobiography Life With My Sister Madonna in which he wrote about their strained relationship, her romantic entanglements as well as recollections from his time on tour with her.
Speaking about mending their disagreement prior to Ciccone’s death, Madonna added: “The last few years have not been easy.
“We did not speak for sometime but when my brother got sick, we found our way back to each other.
“I did my best to keep him alive as long as possible.
“He was in so much pain towards the end, once again, we held hands, we closed our eyes and we danced, together.
“I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore, there will never be anyone like him.
“I know he’s dancing somewhere.”
During his career Ciccone also directed music videos for Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett, and was an interior designer for her homes in New York, Miami and Los Angeles.
Madonna also lost her stepmother, Joan Clare Ciccone, to cancer just weeks ago, and her older brother Anthony Ciccone early last year.