New York, New York - Music superstar Celine Dion vowed Monday her "passion as a performer will never disappear," despite health struggles she says are still just a small part of her monumental story.

"I'm not dead," the singer told AFP on the red carpet ahead of the premiere of the new documentary I Am: Celine Dion, which focuses on her soaring career and more recent struggles with a rare neurological disorder that has hampered her ability to perform.

"When life imposes something on you, you have two options. You deal with it, or you don't want to deal with it," Dion said, calling her decision to speak out about her condition in the documentary both "the greatest gift and the greatest responsibility."

"It's not going to go away," she said of the disorder. "I'm going to have to deal with this. And I am."

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The 56-year-old first disclosed in December 2022 that she had been diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome, a progressive autoimmune disorder with no cure.

Treatment can help alleviate symptoms of the condition that can cause stiff muscles in the torso, arms, and legs, as well as trigger severe spasms.

"The show will still go on," she promised but said it was important to be honest about the struggle.

Irene Taylor, the Academy Award-nominated director behind the film, told AFP that Dion's one ask was to be able to tell her own story in her own words.

"Would that be possible? Instead of other people talking about me?" she recalls the superstar requesting.

"That was like music to my ears as a storyteller," Taylor said. "She just opened up and was very authentic ... in her joy and also in her suffering."

The documentary will begin streaming globally on June 25 on Prime Video.