Alongside a collection of photos of the two siblings together, Madonna shared a lengthy heartfelt tribute to her brother Christopher Ciccone, who passed away at the age of 63 following a battle with cancer.
Taking to her Instagram account, the superstar singer/songwriter wrote:
“My brother Christopher is gone. 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 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 danced through the madness of the AIDS epidemic.” “We went to funerals and we cried, and we went dancing.”
Early in his career, Christopher worked closely with his sister, serving as the art director on her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour and as the tour director on The Girlie Show tour in 1993.
In 2008, Ciccone published his memoir, Life With My Sister Madonna, which became a bestseller yet it was rumored that the siblings fell out over its contents.
“The last few years have not been easy.” “We did not speak for some time but when my brother got sick, we found our way back to each other… 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,” Madonna’s tribute concluded.
Keep up with the latest trending music news by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
Author: Al Denté
Photo: Rajasekharan Parameswaran