Following several canceled tour dates, in 2022, Celine Dion revealed that she had been diagnosed with an extremely rare neurological disorder — stiff person syndrome — prompting an ongoing hiatus from the stage.
Will Dion ever make a comeback? According to the singer, yes, she intends to return to stage.
“I’m going to go back onstage, even if I have to crawl,” Dion told Hoda Kotb of Today. “Even if I have to talk with my hands, I will ... not just because I have to, or because I need to. It’s because I want to and I miss it.”
The six-time Grammy Award winner said she is training “like an athlete” to manage her disorder.
“Five days a week I undergo athletic, physical and vocal therapy. I work on my toes, my knees, my calves, my fingers, my singing, my voice,” Dion told Vogue France in April.
When will Celine Dion sing again?
Dion is committed to singing again — she refuses to let her disease “control my life,” Dion told Today.
“I’m going to come onstage because I’m ready. And my vocal cords will not scare me because I’m going to be ready, and I’m going to hit those notes.”
So, when will Dion be ready to perform again?
At the June premiere of her documentary, “I Am: Celine Dion,” the singer told the New York audience, “I hope to see you all again very soon,” per People.
But the singer has not released any time line for her potential return.
“As things stand, I can’t stand here and say to you: ‘Yes, in four months.’ I don’t know ... My body will tell me,” Dion told Vogue France.
“On the other hand,” she continued, “I don’t just want to wait. It’s morally hard to live from day to day. It’s hard, I’m working very hard and tomorrow will be even harder. Tomorrow is another day. But there’s one thing that will never stop, and that’s the will. It’s the passion. It’s the dream. It’s the determination.”
What is stiff person syndrome?
Stiff person syndrome is “an autoimmune and neurological disorder that can make the muscles in the torso and limbs alternate between rigidity and spasms,” per Yale Medicine. Stiff person syndrome is rare and the cause is still unknown.
Symptoms include painful spasms and progressive muscle stiffness which can be triggered by sudden movements and loud noises, as previously reported by the Deseret News.
When announcing her diagnosis in 2022, Dion said, “The spasms affect every aspect of my daily life, sometimes causing difficulties when I walk and not allowing me to use my vocal cords to sing the way I’m used to.”
There is no known cure for stiff person syndrome, per Johns Hopkins Medicine. Treatments such as therapy and some medication can aid in minimizing symptoms.