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{{Short description|Singaporean classical Indian dancer (1938–2017)}}
{{EngvarB|date=July 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Neila Sathyalingam
| caption = Neila {{circa}} 1944
| native_name = நீலா சத்யலிங்கம்
| image = Neila Sathyalingam c. 1944 (cropped).png
| birth_name = Neela Balendra
| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|2|8|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Colombo]], Ceylon (now Sri Lanka)
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2017|3|9|1938|2|8|df=y}}
| death_place = Singapore
| death_cause =
| known_for = Receiving the [[Cultural Medallion]] for dance (1989)
| education = [[Kalakshetra]] (1956–1958, 1969–1971)
| employer =
| occupation = [[Classical Indian dance]]r, choreographer and instructor
| title = Srimathi
| spouse = Sathyalingam Suntharalingam
| children = 5
| website = [http://www.apsarasarts.com www.apsarasarts.com]
}}

'''Neila Sathyalingam''' (8 February 1938<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/4b9f89cb-0749-11e4-a330-0050568939ad |title=TAN, Richard Swee Guan 陈瑞源 |access-date=27 March 2018 |archive-date=28 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180328102523/http://www.nas.gov.sg/archivesonline/oral_history_interviews/record-details/4b9f89cb-0749-11e4-a330-0050568939ad |url-status=live }}</ref> – 9 March 2017) was a Singaporean [[classical Indian dance]]r, choreographer and instructor of [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Sri Lankan Tamil]] origin. An alumna of [[Kalakshetra]] in Madras (now [[Chennai]]) under the tutelage of Srimathi [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]], she emigrated with her family to Singapore in 1974. In 1977 she and her husband founded the performance arts company Apsaras Arts, which has staged performances throughout the world. She was the company's artistic director and continued to teach dance.

In 1983, Neila was appointed the dance instructor and choreographer for the Indian Dance Group of the [[People's Association]] (PA)—a state board in Singapore—where she remained a resident choreographer. She was also an artistic adviser to Singapore's [[National Arts Council Singapore|National Arts Council]]. For her contributions to dance, Neila was awarded the Singaporean [[Cultural Medallion]] in 1989. She became a [[Singaporean nationality law|Singapore citizen]] in 1994.

Neila's interactions with choreographers and dancers of different cultural backgrounds and traditions in Singapore inspired her to create new Indian dance steps based on classical foundations; for instance, her dance-drama ''Kannagi'', staged for the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1998, was said to have stretched tradition to its limits and offered something to a range of audiences far wider than a traditional dance-drama would have done. Up to 2007, Neila had choreographed dance segments for the last 13 [[Chingay Parade]]s, street parades held annually in Singapore as part of [[Chinese New Year]] festivities.

==Early life and education==
The second of four daughters of a well-to-do dental surgeon and a housewife,<ref name="ST">{{cite news|last=Tay|first=Michelle|title=The Monday Interview : A Dance with Destiny|publisher=[[The Straits Times]] (Life!)|date=20 August 2007|page=L4}}</ref><ref name="Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)">Neila's mother's name was Manonmany Balendra: {{cite web|last=Peiris|first=Roshan|title=Dancing Since Seven|url=http://sundaytimes.lk/980830/plus9.html|publisher=[[The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|The Sunday Times]]|date=30 August 1998|access-date=22 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101020233008/http://sundaytimes.lk/980830/plus9.html|archive-date=20 October 2010|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Neila Balendra was born in 1938 in [[Colombo]], Ceylon (now [[Sri Lanka]]). She began dancing at the age of five, and trained in the [[classical Indian dance]] traditions of ''[[Bharatanatyam]]'', ''[[Kathak]]'', ''[[Kathakali]]'' and ''[[Manipuri dance|Manipuri]]'' at the Shanti Kumar School of Dance and the Kalaya School of Dance in Colombo. In 1954, she won the gold medal at the All-Ceylon Dance Festival and was selected to perform for [[Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom|Elizabeth II]]<ref name="Infopedia">{{cite web|author=Nureza Ahmad|title=Neila Sathyalingam|url=http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_471_2004-12-23.html|publisher=Singapore Infopedia, [[National Library Board]]|date=25 August 2004|access-date=22 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930025412/http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_471_2004-12-23.html|archive-date=30 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> when the Queen visited Sri Lanka in April 1954 during her tour of the [[Commonwealth of Nations|Commonwealth]] after acceding to the throne. Neila has said: "That was the day I decided I was going to devote my life to dance. My father wanted me to become a dental surgeon, but I refused".<ref name="ST"/>
[[File:Rukmini Devi.jpg|thumb|Neila Sathyalingam trained under the legendary ''[[Bharatanatyam]]'' danseuse [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]], photographed here in 1940.]]
At 18, she enrolled in [[Kalakshetra]], a cultural academy located in Madras (now [[Chennai]]) which was established to preserve traditional values in [[Indian art]] and reputed to be one of the best dance institutions in India,<ref name="Infopedia"/> under the tutelage of Srimathi [[Rukmini Devi Arundale]] (1904–1986).<ref name="Apsaras Arts">{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.apsarasarts.com/about_us.htm|publisher=Apsaras Arts|access-date=22 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928181719/http://www.apsarasarts.com/about_us.htm|archive-date=28 September 2007}}</ref> She lived a regimented lifestyle, living in a thatched house with "snakes above and rats running below" and waking at 4:30am for dance practice every day. She completed her five-year course in two years,<ref name="ST"/> graduating with a first-class honours diploma in ''Bharatanatyam'' in 1957.<ref name="Infopedia"/>

Neila met her husband, Sathyalingam Suntharalingam,<ref>According to a 20 August 2007 article in the [[The Straits Times|Straits Times]], Sathyalingam Suntharalingam was 78 years old in 2007: {{cite news|last=Tay|first=Michelle|title=The Monday Interview : A Dance with Destiny|publisher=[[The Straits Times]] (Life!)|date=20 August 2007|page=L4}}</ref> at Kalakshetra. The son of a Sri Lankan politician, [[C. Suntharalingam]], he had graduated from the [[University of Madras]] with a ''Sangitha Sironmani'' (Degree in Music) and from Kalakshetra in 1955 with a Diploma in Music,<ref name="Apsaras Arts"/> and was then teaching [[Indian classical music]] [[Music theory|theory]] and the playing of the Indian drum and cymbals at the academy. After a two-year courtship, they married in 1956 and moved back to Sri Lanka where they lived in a 40-[[Hectare|ha]] farm just outside Colombo. Sathyalingam then taught dance in schools while raising her children, the first of whom was born in 1957.<ref name="ST"/>

In May 1958, [[Sri Lankan riots of 1958|riots broke out in Sri Lanka]] between the [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]] and [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Tamil]] communities. Although the Sathyalingams received a tip-off that they had been targeted and managed to escape the violence, 80 Sinhalese rioters attacked and burned their home. Having lost their abode and all their possessions, they resettled in Colombo. In 1969 Neila returned to Kalakshetra to be trained as an instructor and to take up a postgraduate diploma course. She graduated in 1972 with a distinction and was appointed a dance teacher with Kalakshetra.<ref name="Infopedia"/>

==Career in Singapore==
In 1974, Neila moved to Singapore after American company Uniroyal Chemicals,<ref>It is not known whether this company is related to the [[United States Rubber Company]], which was renamed Uniroyal Inc. in 1961.</ref> for which her husband worked as an area sales manager, was posted there.<ref name="ST"/>

In Singapore, Neila was exposed to dancers of different cultural backgrounds and traditions, inspiring her to create new Indian dance steps based on classical foundations.<ref name="Infopedia"/> In 1977, Neila and her husband founded performing arts company Apsaras Arts under the auspices of the Kamala Club, an organisation for Indian ladies promoting Indian dance and music. Starting with 20 students, the company expanded in size and significance, and has staged numerous ''arangetrams'' (dance débuts) and performances in Singapore and abroad, including Australia,<ref>{{cite news|last=Ruffell|first=L|title=Apsaras Puts Fresh Beat in Singapore Swing|publisher=[[The Canberra Times]]|date=6 June 2001}} Apsaras Arts also toured Sydney and Canberra in 2002, and Darwin in 2003: {{cite web|author=Nureza Ahmad|title=Neila Sathyalingam|url=http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_471_2004-12-23.html|publisher=Singapore Infopedia, [[National Library Board]]|date=25 August 2004|access-date=22 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930025412/http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_471_2004-12-23.html|archive-date=30 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> Indonesia<ref>{{cite news|last=Khrisna|first=Nandhini|title=Classical Indian Dance Provides Captivating Spectacle|url=http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20050922.S03|publisher=[[The Jakarta Post]]|date=22 September 2005|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929105335/http://www.thejakartapost.com/yesterdaydetail.asp?fileid=20050922.S03|archive-date=29 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> and Vietnam.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hoang|first=Dan|title=Singapore Arts Troupe Comes to Vietnam|url=http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2004/08/224696/|publisher=VietNamNet Bridge |date=9 August 2004 |access-date=29 October 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070316222943/http://english.vietnamnet.vn/lifestyle/2004/08/224696|archive-date=16 March 2007}}</ref>

Apsaras Arts, now based at the [[Telok Ayer]] Performing Arts Centre, took part in numerous arts and dance festivals worldwide, including the [[Association of Southeast Asian Nations|Asean]] Festival in Malaysia (1983); the Australian Youth Musical Festival (August 1983); the [[Hong Kong Arts Festival]] (1990); the [[World of Music, Arts and Dance]] (Womad) Festival in Singapore (2002); the 17th National Cultural Festival in [[Nong Khai]], Thailand (2003); and the Indian Festival of Arts in Singapore (2003).<ref name="Infopedia"/> Neila and her husband were respectively the company's artistic director and music director, and continued to teach classical Indian dance and music.<ref name="Apsaras Arts"/>

In 1983, Neila was appointed the dance instructor and choreographer for the Indian Dance Group of the [[People's Association]] (PA), where she taught Indian dance to children from lower-income families for free. She was the resident choreographer for the Indian Dance Group, which is now under the umbrella of PA Talents.<ref name="PA Talents">{{cite web|title=Neila Sathyalingam, Resident Choreographer, Indian Dance Group|url=http://www.lifeskillslifestyle.org.sg/patalents/personalities/choreoresident_ns.asp|publisher=[[People's Association|PA Talents]]|access-date=22 August 2007 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070927033022/http://www.lifeskillslifestyle.org.sg/patalents/personalities/choreoresident_ns.asp |archive-date = 27 September 2007}}</ref> She was also an artistic adviser to the [[National Arts Council Singapore|National Arts Council]].<ref name="ST"/>

Neila was awarded the [[Cultural Medallion]] for her contributions to dance in 1989.<ref name="ST"/><ref name="Infopedia"/> She became a [[Singaporean nationality law|Singapore citizen]] in 1994, her husband and children following suit in subsequent years.<ref name="ST"/> Also in 1994, she was honoured by Bharat Kalachar, a music and dance school in Chennai,<ref>See the [http://www.bharatkalachar.com official website of Bharat Kalachar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821181035/http://www.bharatkalachar.com/ |date=21 August 2007 }}. Retrieved on 24 August 2007.</ref> with the ''Viswa Kala Bharathi'', an award given to non-resident Indian artistes who have helped to propagate Indian arts in foreign lands,<ref>See {{cite web|last=Iyengar|first=Geetha|title=Mrs. YGP of Bharat Kalachar: A Commitment to Indian Culture|url=http://carnatica.net/nvr/mrsygp.htm|publisher=Carnatica.net|access-date=24 August 2007|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927004742/http://carnatica.net/nvr/mrsygp.htm|archive-date=27 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}</ref> for her artistic contributions throughout the world.<ref name="PA Talents"/>

Together with fellow Cultural Medallion holders Som Said and Yang Choong Lian, Neila was a choreographer for the Lion City Angels, a multiracial children's dance troupe formed in 1988. The group performed in the Children's Folklore Festival in France in 1995 and the International Children's Folklore Festival in Spain in 1996. Other major achievements of Neila's include the dance-drama ''Kannagi'', staged for the Singapore Festival of Arts in 1998, and the "Fire" segment of the performance ''The Rhythm of Life'' staged by the People's Association Cultural Troupe in November 2001; the former was said to have "stretched the bounds of traditions to its limits and succeeded in offering something to a range of audiences far wider than what a traditional dance-drama would have done".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lim|first=Sonny|chapter=Neila Sathyalingam|chapter-url=http://www.dansing.org.sg/aboutdance_singapore_Neila.php|editor-last=Purushothaman|editor-first=Venka|title=Narratives : Notes on a Cultural Journey : Cultural Medallion Recipients, 1979–2001|location=Singapore|publisher=[[National Arts Council Singapore|National Arts Council]]|year=2002|isbn=981-04-6737-0|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928094240/http://www.dansing.org.sg/aboutdance_singapore_Neila.php|archive-date=28 September 2007|df=dmy-all}}.</ref> Up to 2007, Neila had also choreographed dance segments for the last 13 [[Chingay Parade]]s, which are street parades held annually in Singapore as part of [[Chinese New Year]] festivities.<ref name="ST"/>

On 14 and 15 September 2007, Neila staged at the [[Victoria Theatre and Concert Hall|Victoria Theatre]] what has been termed her "last mega-production", an Indian epic dance drama called ''Sivagami'' written by [[Kalki Krishnamurthy]] (1899–1954), which involved 65 dancers from Apsaras Arts and from India. Thereafter, she has said that she intended to "slow down" by focusing on her teaching, although she has remarked: "There is really no such thing called a swan song, and I won't like to keep still after being so active. ... I will keep dancing as long as my body will say yes to me".<ref name="ST"/>

==Personal life==
Neila and her husband, Sathyalingam, had three daughters and a son. Of her daughters, her eldest, Mohana (born 1957), sings for Apsaras Arts' performances; while Nandana (born 1960), runs an Indian performing arts school also called Apsaras Arts in Canberra, Australia. Her daughter, Shaan (born 1962)<ref>According to a 20 August 2007 article in the ''[[The Straits Times|Straits Times]]'', Neila's children Nandana and Shaan were respectively 47 and 45 years old in 2007: {{cite news|last=Tay|first=Michelle|title=The Monday Interview: A Dance with Destiny|publisher=[[The Straits Times]]|date=20 August 2007|page=L4}}</ref> is a legal adviser for the [[National Library Board]] of Singapore. Her younger son Skanda (born 1963) contracted [[encephalitis]] at six months and became severely mentally and physically disabled.<ref name="ST"/> Neila's younger sister, Anusha, who lives in Zambia, is a ''Bharatanatyam'' dancer and teacher.<ref name="Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)"/><ref name="ST"/> She died, aged 79, on 9 March 2017.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/pioneer-dancer-neila-sathyalingam-dies|title=Pioneer dancer Neila Sathyalingam dies|last=Nanda|first=Akshita|date=10 March 2017|work=straitstimes.com|access-date=11 March 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313005201/http://www.straitstimes.com/lifestyle/arts/pioneer-dancer-neila-sathyalingam-dies|archive-date=13 March 2017|df=dmy-all}}</ref> 

==Notes==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==References==
*{{cite web|author=Nureza Ahmad|title=Neila Sathyalingam|url=http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_471_2004-12-23.html|publisher=Singapore Infopedia, [[National Library Board]]|date=25 August 2004|access-date=26 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930025412/http://infopedia.nlb.gov.sg/articles/SIP_471_2004-12-23.html|archive-date=30 September 2007|url-status=dead}}
*{{cite news|last=Tay|first=Michelle|title=The Monday Interview : A Dance with Destiny|publisher=[[The Straits Times]] (Life!)|date=20 August 2007|page=L4}}
*{{cite web|title=About Us|url=http://www.apsarasarts.com/about_us.htm|publisher=Apsaras Arts|access-date=22 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928181719/http://www.apsarasarts.com/about_us.htm|archive-date=28 September 2007}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite news|title=Dramatist, Dancer among Cultural Medallion Winners|publisher=[[The Straits Times]]|date=17 February 1990|page=3}}
*{{cite news|author=T. Sasitharan|author2=B.C. Goh|title=Winners All|publisher=[[The Straits Times]]|date=4 May 1990|pages=1–2}}
*{{cite news|title=A Special Night for New Singaporeans|publisher=[[The Straits Times]]|date=16 September 1994|page=1}}
*{{Cite book|last=Gan|first=Hui Cheng|chapter=Dancing Bodies : Culture and Modernity|chapter-url=http://www.dansing.org.sg/workfiles/About%20Dance/Singapore%20Dance/SporeDance-Gan.pdf|editor-last=Kwok|editor-first=Kian Woon|editor2-last=Mahizhnan|editor2-first=Arun|editor3-last=T. Sasitharan|title=Jati Diri: Citra Seni di Singapura [Selves : The State of the Arts in Singapore]|location=Singapore|publisher=[[National Arts Council Singapore|National Arts Council]]|year=2002|isbn=981-04-5217-9|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090327141545/http://www.dansing.org.sg/workfiles/About%20Dance/Singapore%20Dance/SporeDance-Gan.pdf|archive-date=27 March 2009|df=dmy-all}}
*{{cite web|title=FY2005 : Cultural Medallion Grant Recipients Initiate New Projects|url=http://www.nac.gov.sg/new/new02a.asp?id=254|publisher=[[National Arts Council Singapore]]|date=4 May 2006|access-date=22 August 2007|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928024533/http://www.nac.gov.sg/new/new02a.asp?id=254|archive-date=28 September 2007}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20170313041153/http://www.swhf.sg/the-honourees/11-arts-culture-entertainment/6-neila-sathyalingam Profile], swhf.sg; accessed 11 March 2017.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927033022/http://www.lifeskillslifestyle.org.sg/patalents/personalities/choreoresident_ns.asp Neila Sathyalingam profile], lifeskillslifestyle.org.sg; accessed 11 March 2017.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sathyalingam, Neila}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:Singaporean people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:Singaporean choreographers]]
[[Category:Singaporean female dancers]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Cultural Medallion for dance]]
[[Category:Singaporean Hindus]]
[[Category:Singaporean people of Sri Lankan Tamil descent]]
[[Category:Dance in Singapore]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan emigrants to Singapore]]
[[Category:Kalakshetra Foundation alumni]]
[[Category:People from Colombo]]
[[Category:Performers of Indian classical dance]]

Neila Sathyalingam - Revision history

Harryson3545: added new bio