Oct. 7 (UPI) — Pop music star Madonna has posted photos and a heartfelt message remembering her brother Christopher Ciccone, who died of cancer over the weekend. He was 63.
“My brother Christopher is gone. He was the closest human to me for so long. Its 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,” Madonna, 66, wrote Sunday.
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!”
She remembered how Ciccone had started out as one of her backup dancers, then later became the creative director for many of her outrageous blockbuster concert tours.
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“We defied the Roman Catholic Church,The Police, the Moral Majority and all Authority figures that got in the way of Artistic freedom!” Madonna said.
“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.”
The singer acknowledged they had been estranged for years, but reunited when he became ill.
“We found our way back to each other,” she said. “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.”