Affectionately known as “Ming Sir”, a renowned Hong Kong dancer and actor Lau Siu-ming was born in 1931. One of the very few local dancers to study modern dance abroad in Europe, Lau is verifiably one of Hong Kong’s pioneers in dance. In his early days, he received a scholarship and attended the Ecole Supérieure de Danse de Cannes Rosella Hightower in which he choreographed with Hightower the duet Rebirth of the Phoenix. It debuted at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées to great acclaim. Lau subsequently joined the Ballet du XXe Siècle in Brussels founded by famed dancer and choreographer Maurice Béjart, appearing in works including Romeo and Juliet, Ninth Symphony, Rite of Spring, and Bolero. He devoted himself to dance education after his return to Hong Kong, and was previously dancer master and choreographer for Rediffusion Television and Television Broadcasts Limited.

Lau made his first foray into film in 1979 when he was invited by famed director Tsui Hark to star in The Butterfly Murders. This marked the beginning of his long and illustrious acting career in television and films, with memorable roles in A Chinese Ghost Story I, II, III (1987, 1990, 1991), Swordsman (1990), and the television series The Shell Game II (1981). Far from settling into retirement, Lau’s recent works included Colour of the Game (2017) and Shadow of Justice (2018).

Despite his later focus towards the onscreen career, Lau never lost his passion for dance. He remains devoted to the arts and serves as founder or advisor to numerous dance and arts organisations including the Hong Kong Experimental Ballet Theatre, Hong Kong Ballet Group, and the Hong Kong Dance Federation. Lau continues to be pursued by the dance world, and was invited to star in two major dance productions in 2001: The White Snake by the Hong Kong Ballet and The Butterfly Lovers by the Hong Kong Dance Company. For his remarkable achievements, Lau received the Hong Kong Dance Awards 2002. In 2007, he starred in the Hong Kong Arts Festival programme My Life as a Dancer, and was awarded Honorary Fellowships by the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He continued to earn accolades, and received the Award for Outstanding Contribution in Arts in the 2009 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards. In 2017, he received the Distinguished Achievement Award at the Hong Kong Dance Awards. Now, he garnered the Life Achievement Award in the 2018 Hong Kong Arts Development Awards.