Portal:Singapore/Selected biography/16

Neila Sathyalingam (Tamil: நீலா சத்யலிங்கம்) (born 1938) is a Singaporean classical Indian dancer, choreographer and instructor of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. She is an alumna of Kalakshetra in Madras (now Chennai) under the tutelage of Srimathi Rukmini Devi Arundale. Neila 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 is the company's artistic director and continues to teach dance. She became a Singapore citizen in 1994.

In 1983, Neila was appointed the dance instructor and choreographer for the Indian Dance Group of the People's Association (PA), and remains its resident choreographer. She is also an artistic adviser to the National Arts Council. Up to 2007, Neila had also choreographed dance segments for the last 13 Chingay Parades. For her contributions to dance, Neila was awarded the Cultural Medallion in 1989.