Celine Dion has revealed the training regime she has followed as she prepares to open a 16-show residency in Paris, her first extended run of concerts since being diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome.
The singer's last full traditional concert took place in March 2020, when she wrapped up her Courage World Tour. She kicks off her Paris residency at the Plenitude Arena, taking on 16 shows across September and October, with 10 additional dates scheduled for May 2027.
Dion is a Canadian singer whose career has spanned four decades and includes global hits such as 'My Heart Will Go On', the theme from the film Titanic, and 'The Power of Love'. She spent years headlining a residency show titled Celine at The Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, which ran from 2011 to 2019, and has sold more than 200 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists in history. She has won multiple Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year for her 1996 record Falling Into You.
It is a significant undertaking for Celine, who has performed only twice since announcing her diagnosis. Stiff Person Syndrome is a rare neurological disorder that causes severe muscle stiffness and painful spasms, and can also lead to an unsteady gait, double vision or slurred speech. There is no cure for the condition, though treatment can help manage symptoms and slow its progression. The disorder is extremely rare, thought to affect roughly one in a million people.
Pilates, ballet and a home gym
To ensure she is physically able to perform, Celine has been working on her strength with 90-minute Pilates sessions three times a week, alongside twice-weekly ballet and barre classes.
Her home gym is fitted out with weights, a treadmill and a reformer machine. She has said her flexibility has increased since starting the new exercise regime, which forms part of a wider rehabilitation plan that has also included new medication, physical therapy, vocal therapy and immunotherapy.
Stiff Person Syndrome was first described in the 1950s and is thought to involve the immune system attacking nerve cells that control muscle movement, though its exact cause is not fully understood. It is more commonly diagnosed in women than men, and typically develops in mid-adulthood.
'Falling and getting back up'
Speaking to Harper's Bazaar about her regime, Celine described it as falling and getting back up, repeatedly, and said she was proud of herself for achieving something her body was not born to do.
Harper's Bazaar is an American fashion and lifestyle magazine that has been in publication since 1867, making it one of the longest-running titles of its kind.
She said it was a progressive condition, adding that she did not like to say "disease," because "disease" made her scrunch her nose, as if someone were saying, "Kevin, you're such a disease."
Celine was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome in 2022, after experiencing a flare-up in 2020 at the same time as the start of the coronavirus pandemic. She laid bare the toll the condition has taken on her in her 2024 documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
The documentary marked one of the first times Celine had spoken publicly and at length about her health, offering fans a rare, intimate look at her life since her diagnosis.
Comeback announced in March
In recent days, she has looked in high spirits greeting fans in Paris ahead of her shows. She announced her comeback in March, with tickets selling out instantly.
For three years, Celine largely isolated herself from fans, partly out of concern that they would assume she was living a happy, full life while still cancelling shows. During that time she said she developed an appreciation for nature.
She said she loved trees so much that she had a vision of herself trying to disappear through the leaves. The trees were bare because it was autumn, an image she saw as a metaphor for her own struggles.
"I was trying to tell them, I'm sorry, I don't have any apples to give you anymore," she said, until a voice told her: "But we did not come for the apples; we came for the tree."
Last performed in Riyadh
The last time Celine performed on stage was in Riyadh. Earlier that same year, she sang at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
The Courage World Tour promoted her 2019 studio album Courage, her first English-language album in six years at the time of its release.
Now she says she is ready to get back to work, including the less enjoyable parts of being a pop star.
"Well, girl," Celine said, addressing herself but speaking to the reporter, "if you don't want to sign autographs and you don't want to get yourself pretty and you don't want to be disturbed because your pasta is going to get cold, you can always stay home. But look at what you have."
