Madonna has paid tribute to her brother Christopher Ciccone, who has died at the age of 63, describing him as "the closest thing to me for so long".

Her brother, who was a tour director for the pop star and danced in her early music videos including Lucky Star, died from cancer on Friday in Michigan.

In a heartfelt post on Instagram, the 66-year-old singer wrote that their bond was hard to explain but it "grew out of an understanding that we were different".

She added: "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."

The singer explained that "discovering dance in our small Midwestern town saved me", and then "it saved him too" as a gay young man.

She wrote: "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 added that the pair "devoured art and music and film like hungry animals" in the city, and "were in the epicentre of all of these things exploding".

"We danced together on stage in the beginning of my career and eventually, he became my creative director of many tours."

She added: "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."

The pair fell out around the early 2000s, with Ciccone saying his relationship with his sister came under strain after she married her ex-husband, film director Guy Ritchie.

He later released his autobiography, titled Life With My Sister Madonna (2008), in which he wrote about her love life and what it was like working for her.

Speaking about reuniting prior to his death, Madonna added: "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.

"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."

Ciccone was also an artist and interior designer, and directed music videos for other stars including Dolly Parton and Tony Bennett.

Madonna's stepmother Joan also died from cancer recently, and the star's older brother Anthony died early last year.