Production: The Auditions

January 1990, Landmark Studios: auditions for the Blond Ambition Tour.

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I remember everybody wanted to be there. It was all over the news and more that 400 men showed up. It was a men only call. They were from different cities and different countries. I think we had three or four combinations to learn, all in that one audition time. We learned a couple of combinations. She did the cut. We learned the other combinations and she did another cut. That sort of things. And that was it.

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She got the people she was sort of interested in and that she wanted to call back. I went home and about three hours later, the lady friend I was living with came to me saying there was a message for me on my voicemail and she had sort of curious and excited tone. But she didn't tell me what it was all about. So I checked my messages and it was Madonna calling: "Hi Carlton it's Madonna, we are going out to a club tonight and I would like you to be there". And I was like "Oh my God that was Madonna on the phone". So of course I called back and I said yes and I had to meet her at a club called Club Louie.

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We got there and it was like a bar, a small dance club, kind of dark and underground. I remember a couple of the other dancers were there and we litterally partied together and danced the whole night. At the end of that night she told us she was taking a hip-hop class the following morning and she said she wanted us to meet her at the class. We said ok.

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That club night was Friday and then on Saturday we got up and we all went to the class. We showed up at 10 o'clock and she was taking this class like everybody else. And it was taught by Oscar who ended up doing the Blond Ambition Tour. He got blond hair. At the time I had some really wild and long dreadlocks, so after the class she came to me and told me in this typical sharp tone way: "So do you want to go on the road with me? Then you have to cut your hair!"She then said: "I really want you to come" and then I cut my hair, it's only hair after all. And that it all happened.

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Carlton Wilborn, 2006 (interview by MadonnaTribe)