Early career

In the early 1980s, he took a job with Mari Windsor's Harbinger dance company in downtown Detroit then was soon drawn to New York City by his sister and lived with a female dancer on First Avenue and Ninth Street living on crackers and canned tuna. He placed into Ottawa-based Le Groupe de La Place Royale and moved to Canada, touring with the company to Europe.

Career

Unfulfilled by work in the dance company, he was drawn back to New York City, by his sister, with promise of a place as a backup dancer for her club dates for her first hit, "Everybody". The position, however, did not materialize when he arrived, and he had to wait for things not to work out with another dancer. His first public appearance was alongside his sister in her 1982 debut music video "Everybody". After involvement in a promotional tour for her debut album, he appeared in her 1984 "Lucky Star" video. He has decorated Madonna's former residences in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. He has also designed the stage for her 1990 Blond Ambition concert tour, and directed her 1993 Girlie Show concert tour.

His work with other artists includes directing the "Peace Train" music video for Dolly Parton in May 1997, and Tony Bennett's Billboard award-winning music video of "God Bless the Child."

His memoirs Life with My Sister Madonna (2008), debuting at No. 2 on the New York Times Best Seller List, and reached No. 8 on Amazon.com's bestseller list, and No. 5 on Barnes & Noble's bestseller list.

Personal life

Ciccone is openly gay. He stated in his memoirs that Madonna outed him in an interview in The Advocate in 1991 without consulting him.

Books

• Ciccone, Christopher; Leigh, Wendy (2008), Life with My Sister Madonna, New York, NY: Simon Spotlight Entertainment, ISBN 1-4165-8762-4

[ Source: Wikipedia ]