Mick Hutson / Contributor; Michael Kovac / Contributor
Carrie Ann Inaba Says Madonna Charged Dancers $100 Per Minute for Being Late: ‘She Was Very Strict’
Dancing With the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba revealed what it was like working with Madonna as a backup dancer in the ’90s.
During her Monday, October 23 appearance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, Carrie Ann, 55, described the “Material Girl” singer, now 65, as being “very strict” on her The Girlie Show world tour.
“Back in the day, she was very strict,” Carrie Ann told Jennifer, 42. “She gave us this one rule, which I’m so grateful she did. It was, for every minute you’re late, you have to pay her $100 out of your paycheck.”
Instead of being frustrated with the policy, Carrie Ann made an effort to be on time — and said the lesson has stayed with her to this day.
“I’m never late, I’m always early. So much so that I waste half my day because I show up so early. Too early,” she said.
Despite the cut-throat working environment, Carrie Ann told Jennifer it was a dream to be a backup dancer for The Queen of Pop.
“There was like Michael [Jackson], Prince, and Madonna at the time. Right? I got on Madonna’s tour, and I was like, ‘That’s all I need,'” she said.
After Carrie Ann finished the tour, she “retired” from dancing at the age of 23 to go back to school. “As a dancer, you’re kind of put out to pasture when you’re 25,” she said in the interview.
Her dancing days may be over, but Carrie Ann is still going strong in the industry. She has choreographed and staged many shows, including American Idol, worked as a choreographer on season one of So You Think You Can Dance, and has been the only female and American judge on Dancing With the Stars for most of its 30-season run.
Madonna kicked off her Celebration Tour at the O2 in London on October 14, after previously having to postpone the tour due to a health battle – and brought daughters Lourdes Leon and Estere onstage.
Estere, 11, stole the show when she danced to her mother’s chart-topping hit song, “Vogue.” As her youngest daughter rocked the stage, the Grammy winner and Lourdes, 27, held up score sheets that read “10.”
The Celebration tour will be in the U.K. and Europe until December 6, then travel across North America through April 24, 2024.
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