In TVB’s latest television drama Never Dance Alone <女人俱樂部>, Flora Chan (陳慧珊) portrays Diana Yung, the insular, competitive, and cocky CEO of D Dance Fitness, Hong Kong’s largest and most popular dance and aerobics academy. Diana was once part of the tight-knit M Club in her late teens; however, her arrogance eventually led to a nasty breakup with the other girls. Since breaking off from the group, Diana devoted most of her time and energy to compete with them. Flora said, “One of the first things that the producers told me about the role is that she is not cute. That just made me even more interested to do the role, because in the past, TVB only offered me to do likeable characters. After digging deeper into this character, I’ve discovered that there are actually many aspects of her that is worthy of sympathy.” Diana grew up with the girls of M Club, a group of friends who have an interest in aerobic dancing. However, Diana felt that she was getting ostracized from the group, which gave rise to many misunderstandings that forced Diana to leave. “She doesn’t have many friends around her, and because she is lonely, her dark sides begin to show. She doesn’t like it when others are happier than her. She loves to compare herself with others. All of this is manifested from her loneliness.” Impressed and satisfied with her villainous role, Flora said, “I really wanted to challenge this character. I’m not interested in the characters I used to portray back in the day. This character has many layers to her. It’s something that I really wanted to do.” Present-day Diana is not only the CEO of D Dance Fitness, but also the academy’s spokesperson and model. She is an extremely professional dancer and often snubs M Club with her superior position in the industry. To do the role justice, Flora lost fourteen pounds and spent many months to perfect the dance routines. “[Diana] is a very successful spokesperson so I had to train myself well for this drama. It also gave me an excuse to update myself about the modern dances of today. I spent a lot of effort on funky dance.” Diana’s dance routines are sharper and faster compared to the dances performed by the throwback M Club members. As a result, Flora also had to spend the most time dancing amongst her fellow Never Dance Alone costars. “I really want to thank TVB’s dance instructors for thinking so highly of me. TVB also gave me very fast-paced choreography, and I have also tried my best in them. I hope the ending result isn’t embarrassing to watch.” Flora continued to add about her role, “[Diana] has accumulated a lot of unhappiness, and she is unwilling to broaden her own views of the world. Since the beginning, and until the end, Diana never lost to others, but she did lose to herself. This is also one of the messages that the drama is attempting to send – that friendship is valuable. You live for yourself, not for others so you can be happy.” Creds: TVB Weekly
