Celine Dion couldn’t contain her excitement as she sang and danced for fans outside her hotel in Paris on Tuesday, ahead of her comeback to the stage in the city.
The singing icon, 58, is gearing up for her return to the stage three years after canceling her world tour due to a debilitating battle with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), a rare neurological condition that causes severe muscle stiffness and painful spasms.
Having performed just once in the past six years, she exposed the cruelty of the condition in her 2024 documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
Now Celine has arrived in the French capital, where she will perform a ten-night residency in a long-awaited return to the spotlight.
She made a glamorous appearance outside the Royal Monceau Hotel, wearing a chic black dress with a ruffled hem and train.
Her hair was tied back in an elegant chignon and she opted for subtle makeup, complementing her statuesque frame with black stilettos.
Celine Dion couldn’t contain her excitement as she sang and danced for fans outside her hotel in Paris on Tuesday, ahead of her comeback to the city’s stage
The singing icon, 58, is gearing up for her return to the stage three years after canceling her world tour due to a debilitating battle with Stiff Person Syndrome (SPS), a rare neurological condition that causes severe muscle stiffness and painful spasms.
Having performed just once in the past six years, she exposed the cruelty of the condition in her 2024 documentary, I Am: Celine Dion.
The superstar made her first public appearance in two years on Friday, ahead of her comeback to the stage.
Her last public appearance was in 2024 when she sang at an Elie Saab fashion event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, but she has since been spotted in the crowd at a Paul McCartney and a Coldplay concert.
In March, she announced her return to the stage for a ten-day residency in Paris, starting this fall. Due to overwhelming demand, Celine has expanded her series with an additional 16 performances from September through May 2027.
Celine opened up Harper’s Bazaar this month about how she’s been preparing for the shows, along with the insecurities she’s overcome since her diagnosis.
The singer has been preparing for her shows with a rigorous training schedule, which includes 90-minute pilates sessions three times a week and ballet classes with a local company twice a week.
‘It is a progressive condition. I don’t like saying ‘disease’. Sickness makes you go like that,” she said, turning up her nose and saying, “Kevin, you’re such a sick person.”
The interview was conducted in a recording studio at the Palms Casino Resort, a room furnished with an array of fitness equipment, including weights, a treadmill, a reformer machine and a ballet barre where Dion stretched out.
After years of symptoms, Celine was diagnosed with SPS in 2022 after experiencing a flare-up in 2020, at the same time as the pandemic began.
She isolated herself from fans for three years, partly motivated by the fear that her fans would assume she was living a happy, full life but still cancel shows. She also developed an appreciation for nature during this time.
Now Celine has arrived in the French capital, where she will perform a ten-night residency in a long-awaited return to the spotlight.
She made a glamorous appearance outside the Royal Monceau Hotel, wearing a chic black dress with ruffled hem and train
Her hair was tied back in an elegant chignon and she opted for subtle makeup, complementing her statuesque frame with black stilettos
“I love trees so much, and I had a vision of trying to make myself disappear through the leaves,” she said.
The trees were dry because it was autumn, a visual image that Dion saw as a metaphor for her own struggles.
“I tried to tell them, I’m sorry, I don’t have any more apples to give you,” she said, until a voice told her, “But we didn’t come for the apples; we came for the tree.’
The last time Celine stood on the podium was at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Now she is preparing to return to the stage with a packed practice schedule during a period she describes as falling and getting back up again and again.
“It’s been so long, I’d like to give them something to show them how much I’ve missed them,” she said.
Celine has missed her fans, who she knows very well are the reason for her success.
“They paid for tickets,” she told Harper’s Bazaar. ‘They bought my records. They gave me that luxury. So the least I can do is tell them I’m still alive.’
She’s now ready to get back to work, even the more annoying things that come with being a pop star.
“Well girl,” says Celine, addressing herself but talking to the reporter, “if you don’t want to sign autographs and you don’t want to get pretty and you don’t want to be disturbed because your pasta is going to get cold, you can always stay home. But look what you’ve got.’
In March, the pop icon announced that she will play a ten-night residency at the 40,000-capacity La Défense Arena in Paris in September and October.
During the announcement on her birthday, she described her comeback as ‘the best gift of my life’.
She said in a video: ‘I’m so ready. I feel good, I’m strong, I feel excited, of course, [and] of course a little nervous.
‘I’m doing great, managing my health and feeling good. I’m singing again, and even doing a little dancing.
“But I have to tell you something very important: for the past few years, every day that has passed, I have felt your prayers and support, your kindness and love. I am grateful to all of you. I can’t wait to see you again.”
Her last public appearance was in 2024 when she sang at an Elie Saab fashion event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (pictured)
She has since added additional dates due to “overwhelming demand,” adding another 10 shows in the month of May.
SPS is a rare neurological condition that causes ‘muscle stiffness and painful spasms that come and go and can worsen over time’ – and Dion has previously detailed how this affected her signature singing.
The singer first announced in 2022 that she was suffering from SPS and canceled her remaining tour dates at the time.
In a video uploaded to her Instagram page at the time, the singer emotionally explained: “Unfortunately, these spasms are affecting every aspect of my daily life.
‘Sometimes this causes problems when walking and I cannot use my vocal chords to sing as I normally do.
She added: “I’m working hard every day with my sports medicine doctor to build my strength and my ability to perform again, but I have to admit it’s been a struggle.
‘All I know is to sing. It’s what I’ve done all my life, and it’s what I love to do most,” the mother of three continued.
In May 2024, Celine gave a health update during an interview with Vogue, saying that her “happiness has returned.”
She continued, “It’s been a big burden on my shoulders, and a lot of that weight is gone… because now all I can focus on is reality. That’s great.’
And during an appearance on Today, also last year, the performer said: “I believe in myself, in my courage,” adding that she will not let the disorder “control my life.”
‘I’m going on stage because I’m ready. And my vocal chords aren’t going to scare me, because I’m going to be ready, and I’m going to hit those notes.”
