Madonna is remembering her brother Christopher Ciccone, who died Friday at age 63 after a battle with cancer.
Taking to Instagram, the 66-year-old pop icon reflected on their relationship, noting that they "kept dancing" through countless obstacles and were bound to one another despite their own trials.
"He was the closest human to me for so long," she wrote of Ciccone, who was an artist, dancer and designer. He featured in music videos like "Lucky Star," contributed as the art director for Madonna's "Ambition World Tour," and worked as tour director for "The Girlie Show" tour, according to Sky News.
"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," Madonna wrote. "We took each other's hands and we danced through the madness of our childhood."
She explained that dance held her and her brother together, emphasizing how discovering dance in a small Midwestern town transformed their lives. She was born in Bay City, Michigan, and moved to the suburbs of Detroit with her family. In her post, Madonna shared that her ballet teacher provided a safe environment for her brother to embrace his identity as a gay man in a town where it was taboo.
When Madonna moved to New York in 1978 to pursue her dream of becoming a dancer, her brother followed her.
"And again we took each other's hands, and we danced through the madness of New York City!" she wrote. "We devoured Art and Music And Film like hungry animals. We were in the epicenter 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 the Creative Director, of many tours."
Madonna described him as "a painter a poet and a visionary" whom she admired. She also alluded to tensions, writing that he had a "sharp tongue," which he "sometimes used against me but I always forgave him."
As Sky News noted, Ciccone had a falling out with his sister in 2008 after publishing his bestselling autobiography, "Life With My Sister Madonna." In the book, he discussed their difficult relationship, her romantic life, and shared memories from their time touring together.
"The last few years have not been easy," Madonna continued. "We did not speak for some time, 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."
Madonna recalled her brother being "in so much pain towards the end."
"Once again, we held hands. We closed our eyes and we danced. Together," she wrote. "I’m glad he’s not suffering anymore. There will never be anyone like him. I know he’s dancing somewhere."