Celine Dion reveals plans to keep performing despite illness
By Jennifer S. Kuwanta
Legendary music icon, Celine Dion has disclosed that she has made significant efforts “to continue performing for her beloved and loyal fans” despite her diagnosis of stiff person syndrome.
According to the synopsis for a new documentary about her life, the “intimate” project “takes viewers on a journey inside Celine’s past and present as she reveals her battle with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS) and the lengths she has gone to continue performing.”
The documentary, to be released on Amazon Prime, is an “emotional, energetic, and poetic love letter to music” that “captures more than a year of filming as the legendary singer navigates her journey toward living an open and authentic life amidst illness,” a press release for the documentary said Tuesday, January 30.
Before disclosing her diagnosis of the potentially debilitating disease in December 2022, Dion had to postpone her Las Vegas residency in 2021 to prioritize her health. She emphasized the importance of “learning how to live with and manage [her disease], but not to let it define me.”
After sharing her diagnosis, she cancelled all of her world tour dates for 2023 and 2024.
“While we’re still learning about this rare condition, we now know this is what has been causing all of the spasms I’ve been having,” she said at the time in an Instagram video. “Unfortunately, these 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.”
SPS is defined by the Cleveland Clinic as “a rare autoimmune movement disorder that affects the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord). People with this condition first experience a stiffening of the muscles of their trunk followed, over time, by the development of stiffness and rigidity in the legs and other muscles in the body.”
The “My Heart Will Go On” singer this week called the “last couple of years” a “challenge,” adding, “As the road to resuming my performing career continues, I have realized how much I have missed it, of being able to see my fans.”
“During this absence, I decided I wanted to document this part of my life, to try to raise awareness of this little-known condition, to help others who share this diagnosis.“