Irene Holm

A great hullabaloo ensued. The young began to sing, the older men toasted each other and got up from their seats to pat each other on the shoulder, or slap each other on the paunch in the middle of the floor, laughing. The wives began to give their better halves stern looks, fearing they might overindulge.

Life didn’t turn out as expected for Miss Irene Holm. Rejected from The Royal Ballet, she teaches dance courses in the countryside. From the capital, bad news arrives. But at the village dance in the local tavern, Irene gets a chance to show her solo performance…

Biography

Herman Bang (1857-1912) is considered a rather risqué writer for his time. His debut from 1880, Families Without Hope, was considered obscene and immediately banned. Scenic moments lived by nuanced characters can be found throughout Bang’s oeuvre. He was part of the Modern Breakthrough: as a critic, he introduced French naturalism to Denmark with his essay collection Realism and Realists. The novels Tine (1889) and Stuk (1887), and the short story collection Quiet Existences (1886) are among his most famous works. Still relevant and widely read today for his meticulous sensibility, Herman Bang is part of the Danish curriculum.