page_title: Rebel Heart Tour
section_title: Conception and rehearsals
hierarchical_section_title: Rebel Heart Tour / Development / Conception and rehearsals
caption_attribution_description: Madonna - Rebel Heart Tour Cologne 2
context_page_description: The Rebel Heart Tour was the tenth concert tour by American singer Madonna, staged in support of her 13th studio album, Rebel Heart. Comprising 82 shows, the tour visited North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. It began on September 9, 2015, in Montreal, Canada, at the Bell Centre and concluded on March 20, 2016, in Sydney, Australia at Allphones Arena. The tour was officially announced on March 1, 2015, through Madonna's website and was led by Live Nation Entertainment's Global Touring Division, helmed by Arthur Fogel; this was the fifth collaboration between Madonna and Live Nation as well as her third tour to be promoted by the company. Additionally, the tour marked the singer's first visits to Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Singapore, and New Zealand, and was her first to visit Australia since The Girlie Show World Tour.
  Rehearsals for the tour commenced following its announcement and lasted 10–12 hours per day, with involvement from Madonna's team of creative directors, producers, designers and choreographers. It was inspired by shows like Cirque du Soleil and Chinese New Year, as well as the films 300 and Grease.
context_section_description: While composing material for Rebel Heart, Madonna would get "fleeting moments of ideas" of what she would like to perform on the tour. After the promotional performances supporting the album, she had a concrete imagery about the themes she would like to incorporate. In March 2015 she clarified: "I like to create personas and then the persona changes and grows into other things... I'm at the beginning of that process right now, in terms of thinking of my tour and stuff". Rehearsals for the tour occurred for 10–12 hours per day. Madonna admitted liking the tour's rehearsals and creative process, noting her complete involvement in its development. Unlike The MDNA Tour, Madonna confirmed that her son Rocco would not perform onstage, but would instead work behind the scenes of the Rebel Heart Tour.
  By July 2015, Madonna was working on the set list with her team of creative directors, producers, designers and choreographers. She described the tour as "characteristically theatrical spectacle" included songs from her whole career. Madonna saw a challenge in alternating between material from Rebel Heart and her previous works, since "thematically the songs—the old and the new—they have to go together; sonically they have to go together". The theme of the show was derived from the name Rebel Heart, and showcased the singer's personal statements and opinions, represented in the form of a journey. Love and romance were listed as the central themes of the show, with Madonna wanting the audience to feel inspired watching it. She juxtaposed opposite ideas of sexuality and religion, saying that "I'm very immersed in [how they are] not supposed to go together, but in my world it goes together". Inspirations for Rebel Heart Tour came from shows like Cirque du Soleil and the Chinese New Year, as well as from films like 300 (2006) and Grease (1978). Jamie King was signed as the creative director for the show, while Megan Lawson and Jason Young choreographed the 20 dancers through intricate acrobatic dance steps. Since Madonna had started out as a dancer, she tried to find "unique and original dancers to work with" and create content and dance routines that would appeal to the audience.
  French choreographer Sébastian Ramirez was hired from the auditions to select backup dancers for the show, which saw over 5,000 applicants in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. Madonna admired Ramirez's work and enlisted him to choreograph two songs for the show. Ramirez was surprised by the fast pace in which Madonna and her team generated and swapped ideas for the tour. Taking charge of the whole show, Madonna would explain an emotion behind a song and then entrust Ramirez and the other choreographers to come up with a routine.
  Two short videos were released on the singer's Instagram account, showing the rehearsals taking place. As "Devil Pray" and "Iconic" from the album played, the videos showed flamenco-inspired choreography, nuns dancing on poles, and an elaborate set adorned with dancers carrying giant props. The singer continued releasing images and videos related to the tour, including dance rehearsal workshops. Madonna chose comedian Amy Schumer as the opening act for the New York shows, deviating from her usual hiring of a band or a disc jockey to open the shows. The singer thought of the idea since she believed Schumer was a role model for young women. Diplo, one of the producers of Rebel Heart, was hired as the opening act for the Montreal shows.
caption: The Rebel Heart Tour consisted of intricate choreography. Here Madonna is seen performing "Holy Water" on a cross, atop a dancer dressed as a nun
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