Introducing the Young M Club Girls of “Never Dance Alone”
TVB’s latest prime-time television drama Never Dance Alone <女人俱樂部> has become a hot topic of discussion among television audiences in Hong Kong. With the story told in two timelines – the past and the present – the nostalgia-inducing comedy drama brings back the goddesses of the nineties Carman Lee (李若彤), Rachel Lee (李麗珍), Fennie Yuen (袁潔瑩), Flora Chan (陳慧珊), Gloria Yip (葉蘊儀), Angie Cheong (張慧儀), and Elvina Kong (江欣燕). Although debut week ratings were less than stellar, Never Dance Alone has been earning positive reviews from both critics and viewers, and it is expected for ratings to continue to rise throughout its month-long broadcast.
Besides the seven leads, the actresses who portray their younger versions have also been achieving popularity. Netizens gave them the nickname “New Generation of Young Male Killers”, noting the girls’ beauty and kind images.
Anjaylia Chan – Younger Version of Carman Lee
Anjaylia Chan (陳嘉寶) debuted as a pseudomodel in 2009, but has been participating in various acting projects since 2010. She appeared in many Patrick Kong films, such as Love Is the Only Answer <人約離婚後> and The Best Plan Is No Plan <溝女不離三兄弟>.
Venus Wong – Younger Version of Rachel Lee
Arguably the most popular of the younger actresses, Venus Wong (王敏奕), born in Guangzhou but raised in Hong Kong, was a model before she tapped into the acting industry. The 22-year-old debuted her first acting performance in the 2008 horror film Forgive and Forget <親愛的>, directed by Patrick Kong. She also took part in the EEG films Diva <DIVA華麗之後> and The Midas Touch <超級經理人>. Never Dance Alone was her debut television drama.
Cheronna Ng – Younger Version of Fennie Yuen
Cheronna Ng (吳嘉熙) debuted as a member of the Cantopop girl group Super Girls in 2012. She has been in the business since 2010 – when she first started filming commercials – and has also taken part in mini films with her bandmates. Never Dance Alone is Cheronna’s debut television drama. The 24-year-old has revealed that she used to be quite chubby when she was younger, earning her the nickname “Bomb Dragon”.
Jeannie Chan – Younger Version of Flora Chan
Born and raised in Canada, Jeannie Chan’s (陳瀅) similarities with Flora Chan go beyond physical attributes. The 24-year-old is an alumnus of the University of British Columbia and has filmed many commercials and blockbuster films prior to shooting Never Dance Alone, her first television drama. Her first film was 2012’s Cold War <寒戰>, in which she made a small appearance as an ICAC officer. She was also in Together <在一起> and Horseplay <盜馬記>.
Kandy Wong – Younger Version of Gloria Yip
Kandy Wong (黃山怡), the oldest of the younger cast at 26 years old, debuted in 2010 as the main vocalist of the pop duo Sugar Club, the other member being Sebastian Poon (潘雲峰), the main songwriter and guitarist. Kandy’s debut drama was the 2011 miniseries, Dropping By Cloud Nine <你們我們他們>.
Winki Lai – Younger Version of Angie Cheong
Never Dance Alone is Winki Lai’s (賴慰玲) first major project since graduating acting school. Despite her lack of experience, netizens have praised Winki’s professionalism and her acting in the series.
Annice Wu – Younger Version of Elvina Kong
Annice Wu (吳燕菁) is one-half of the pop duo AOA, the other member being her older twin sister, Annelle Wu (吳燕珊). The 26-year-old twins, born in Guangzhou, have released two commercially successful EPs since their debut under Gold Typhoon in 2012. Never Dance Aloneis Annice’s first television drama since her debut in Hong Kong.
Heidi Lee – Carman Lee’s Daughter
Portraying the teenage daughter of Carman Lee, Heidi Lee (李靜儀) – also a member of Super Girls – had her first major acting debut with Never Dance Alone. The 23-year-old shared many scenes with Carman, who praised Heidi for being a hard worker.
Source: East Week
This article is written by Addy for JayneStars.com.
I am surprised by Kandy Wong’s picture! So pretty. Liked her the best as she is closest in mannerism to Gloria Yip. Interestingly when standing next to their adult counterparts, they do look similar.
Funn,
Kandy Wong appeared as Toby Leung’s younger sister in “Season of Love” and had many scenes opposite Him Law. Kandy once dated hunky Dominic Ho from “Young and Dangerous Reloaded”.
Actually all the young girls from M Club are pretty in their own ways. The casting choices were suitable since the girls resemble their older counterparts.
The fresh faced girls of the M Club makes the likes of heavily pushed and old Christine Kuo, Eliza Sam, Lin Xia Wei look pale in comparison.
Agree on Carrie’s statement. These girls who are mostly newbies can act much better than the MhK and MCI actresses TVB are promoting.
I wasso so so so so so amazed by their performance even in the first episode..all of them are doing so well with potraying their characters. And I completely agree- they are actually alot better than most of the heavily promoted newcomers nowadays…even when they had little to no acting experience with this series being their first LOLOL !
No worries for Eliza. She is doing very well, cute too.
Eliza ‘ s is lorelai
Kandy’s acting is so exaggerated
Like Gloria yip.although aged & fat, she is really funny & cutie
Yea, I’m amazed at how well tvb chose them, they do look similar when standing next to the veterans lol
Fishy, I must say the success of this show must not be attributed to TVB. Eric Tsang was the one who got this right. He also hired Teresa Mo to train the girls and insisted that the girls go to every single rehearsals of their older counterparts so that they can be more alike.
kandy wong looks like singer priscilla chan
Fei choi really funny
She can sing really well
I agree, casting was great! they are all likable too and all equally stand out without anyone particulary annoying characters. I think their attractive appearance helped too. and i’m just glad they are fresh faces and not old MHK contestants… lol. I think young flora resembles flora the most in acting and talking
Except Carmen’s daughter. She’s the not as pretty as others and she’s irritating.
I totally agree! I think she’s so mean to her mother… Bad influence -_-
She looks like the younger version of Teresa Mo.
@Samme
Nothing wrong with a character that is bad influence. You can’t expect every character to be a goodie goodie. There would be no antagonists then.
Totally agree she is a pain in the ass.. not a fan of her, but she’s really portraying the character well.. Rich spoil kids are like that nowadays. Probably even worst than her.
I think she is pretty!! She have the Korean look. Her acting is good, but her character have create a lot of hate on weibo. I hope people understand is just a drama.
Tan tan character is annoying also
Flora really cool
I think she’s pretty too. I didn’t know she’s really 23. She looks so young with her baby face. It’s good that her character generated a lot of hate, it just means she acts her part well.
She has beautiful feature
Cheronna Ng – Younger Version of Fennie Yuen. She can totally act as the younger version of Denise Ho!!!! 90% look a like!!!
I thought the same!
Denise Ho should act as siu chi car
The McDonald prince is freaking hot!!! Only if he don’t talk so girly!!! He is so cute! Then what a disappointment what he looks like when older (Lawrence Ng) lol.
I love the Mcdondon prince too and yup very disappointed that his older version is Lawrence Ng. Lawrence isn’t cute at all and his acting is so boring!
Lawrence doesn’t have the looks and calibre to be the so called handsome prince of this series.
Lawrence used to be eighties hunk
LOL
Oh yeah, which “young” actor played McDonald Prince/麥當當王子? He’s a cutie.
hahaha yea it’s quite disappointing that he grew up to be Lawrence Ng
The Mcdon prince is a CUTE version of Stephen Wong Ka Lok! TVB should promote this guy since TVB has no successors yet of Raymond Lam, Bosco Wong and Ruco Chan!
Haha! Cudn’t hv said it better. I think he’s da cutest thing ever! hehe
I totally agree with u! I was like, he looks like a younger version of stephen. What a cutie.
Agree
Totally agree. He’s definitely a cuter version of Stephen. Does anyone know his (real) name?
Matthew Ho Kwong Pui
http://instagram.com/matthew_hokwongpui#
Is he related to Stephen?
Thanks Luca. In his Instagram pics in certain angles he looks resembles both Stephen and Sammul (a cross between the two) – dare I say it?
thanks Luca! following him now lol
Agree. The first time I saw him what goes on my mind was that ‘wow he’s a younger and better looking Stephen lookalike’. He’s so cute and adorable. I kinda like him.
Agree
If you have noticed, he was an assistant on the super trio show (latest season)
I think he is Eric tsang ‘s assistant
he is so cute! hope tvb will promote him more !
He have the look but short of acting skill
WHAT!?!?!?!?! All this time I thought he was Stephen Wong!!! :O :O :O
Thanks Addy&JayneStars for the informative article.
Wow they’re all around my age. I have always dreamed of acting, but after learning how tough it really is (staying up all night, OT, filming in bad weather ,etc) I stopped thinking about it. Btw, I really like watching these girls act. Though they’re 20-something, they sure know how to act like teens.
These girls definitely act better than those Miss Hong Kong and Miss Chinese International ………….. more natural and better Cantonese! But I don’t think they are TVB artistes. They got cast in “Never Dance Alone” probably through Eric Tsang’s good connections!
Well most of them are either singer artists or models, so I dont think they’re tvb managed artists.However, those that are singers, i think some of them are tvb managed? o_O Maybe
They speak fluent cantonese
Yes sandcherry, Eric Tsang had a big casting audition. I don’t think many will turn out for the audition if Eric Tsang is not the producer. I guess most thought that if they impressed Eric in this series, he might give them other film opportunities, so it’s worth doing even if it’s for TVB.
Based on the last photo, the middle girl looks the prettiest. Is she Venus Wong?
I think Cheronna is the prettiest *U*
Though the above girls are already in their 20s, they do act like teenaged girls in “Never Dance Alone. Good work!
We need more of them!
Especially the rude daughter of Siu Si! Yes, she is annoying, and good enough to be hated at!
She is a great actress.that has potential but just annoying
Well, in the more recent episodes, she is less annoying 🙂 She becomes a guai lui 😛
Her role is a beetch but she’s so cute and natural
She is a stunner
i think that kandy wong is the younger version of hk singer priscilla chan
same here. I thought it was her at first when I saw kandy on some show
Wow, I’m surprised that this series was many of the girl’s debut series. They can act a lot better than many ppl that have been in TVB for a while. Great casting, and they are all very beautiful.
Agree. I’m surprised to know that for most of them this is their debut TV series. This girls can act and are really good and much better than MHKs and TVB actresses comparing their first appearances.
Some of them have acted in films before. This might be their TV debut but definitely not for acting.
The prettiest is Winki Lai (Angie Cheung). The most likeble is Anjaylia Chan (Carmen Lee).
Nice series.
I think the prettiest are younger Flora and Rachel.
Are you kidding??
I actually think the prettiest is Annice Wu. She has a resemblance to Christy Chung.
She has a real life identical twin sister
Both kandy & annice are brilliant singer,dancer & stage performer
Annice & twin sister form pop duo named aoa
I find Venus Wong is the prettiest.
I agree with you. Venus Wong is the younger version of Rachel Lee is the prettiest.
Agreed! 🙂 Anjaylia and Kandy are beautiful as well.
Venus is prettiest but Anjay, Annice, Cheronna and Jeanie are pretty too.
I agree Venus is the prettiest and her acting is good too. I enjoy watching her.
will not watch this.No good TVB shows since jan 2014!
Then got lost
I’m actually really enjoying this series. Great acting by all the older and younger actresses who give off such a fresh vibe. The 80’s music helps as well as I grew up listening to the Cantopop of that time.
Fantasy & lorelai really nostalgic
Loving this series. All the girls have great chemestry & so natural. Hope to see them in more future productions.
Yeah love this drama past and present very well acted by these young and veteran artists..love the theme song as well. Go Go hit tvb box office for this year.
Not bad I find that ‘Never Dance Alone’ has some movie standard not really pure drama plot.
Good plot, sarcastic dialogues really addictive drama
I really liked winki’s acting. So natural and refreshing she’ll be great in the future
i also love this series bc the storyline is universal. bring back so many good memories.
Alan tam’s song are classic
Venus Wong is dating eric tsang’s son derrick.
No wander she got the part . But she is great actress
wow..danngg…seriously? he’s like 12 years older than her…
im sure he had some kind of influence on her getting this part then… =X
wow i really love this M CLUB tv film
is so awesome and nice i love the young M CLUB GIRLS
part but i don’t really like the old lady M CLUB part
but i still love watching this tv drama
i support M CLUB>>>>>
I remember her chasing Alan tam’ s car
Winki’s acting reminds me of a female version of young Wayne Lai. A few of the actors has this spunk like young Andy Lau, young fat gor, young Wayne Lai, Barbara Yung, young tony Leung, I don’t know how to explain it but they just have this natural spunk.
Btw, is it just me or anyone else cried at the part when heard on the radio that Barbara Yung had died…? That brought back so much memory, I still remember when I heard the news back then.
Who is barbara?
you don’t know Barbara Yung? 🙁 she was a really popular actress from the 80s. she did a few series with micheal mui. you can google her.
Sad for her
Winky ‘s voice quite masculine
Really enjoy the series! These girls are doing very well and they’re all very pretty in the own way.
They all are pretty and nice to look at, even the beetchy roles one such as Dan Dan and Siu Sze’s daughter. Their acting so comfortable and natural.
The one that looks the youngest is actually the oldest lol
Kandy is the oldest
The girls are among the highest quality newbies I’ve seen in TVB after so many years. Props to eric Tsang’s casting! Anjaylia, Annice, Venus, Jeanie, Cheronna are very pretty and fresh. Kandy and Winky and Heidi are cute. Most importantly they all CAN ACT. Very natural in their roles!
Yeahhhh, new generation goddesses of TVB who actually can act. Move aside Kate Tsui, Tavia Yeung, Myolie Wu, let the young goddesses take over.
Anjaylia & wonky can really act
Episode 12 is the pinnacles of the whole series where m club started to split.
i must say eric tsang really hit the spot with the casting of the younger versions. they are all doing a great job despite for many of them, this is their first drama! quite shocking!!
im so glad eric didnt choose MHK or Miss international winners…cause honestly, the cant act…like seriously. can’t.
atleast these girls have the heart to do so and are doing well with their roles!
great drama!!
Venus Wong is the prettiest.
all of them are acting very well.
check out Venus in ICAC Investigators 2014 episode 1 .
she plays a rookie ICAC investigator.
looks very different than what she does in M Club
Cheronna Ng(Siu Chi Cha)and Heidi Lee(Wong Ho,Siu Sze’s daughter)are both in Hong Kong group Super Girls.Their group members are Aka,Yanny,and Jessica.Go on Google,YouTube,Facebook,Instagram,or Weibo to check them out.Pretty cool to see Cheronna and Heidi in the same drama.
I take back what i originally said about this series in being boring … by episode 25, i’m deeply in love. it’s quite captivating and all it truly needed was some time.
i’m so used to fast pace storylines and under developed characters that i automatically labeled this series as boring and bad.
it’s the opposite now. has all the potentials to be the number 1 series for the year and definitely a tear jerker… love it!