Will Celine Dion Return to the Stage, and When?

Following several canceled tour dates in 2022, Celine Dion revealed that she had been diagnosed with an extremely rare neurological disorder — stiff person syndrome — which has led to an ongoing hiatus from performing.

Will Dion ever make a comeback? According to the singer, she intends to return to the stage.

“I’m going to go back onstage, even if I have to crawl,” Dion told Hoda Kotb. “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 mentioned 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 shared in April.

Dion is committed to singing again and refuses to let her disease “control my life,” she expressed.

“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.”

When will Dion be ready to perform again?

During 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,” according to People. But no timeline has been released 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, 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,” according to Yale Medicine. The condition is rare, and its cause is still unknown.

Symptoms include painful spasms and progressive muscle stiffness, which can be triggered by sudden movements and loud noises.

When announcing her diagnosis in 2022, Dion stated, “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, based on information from Johns Hopkins Medicine. However, treatments such as therapy and some medication can help in minimizing symptoms.