N. J. HOFFMAN

The project and its roots

The books, documents and memories kept by Madame Mirceva’s family are the starting point for a project that records the folklore of Latvian manors, traces the international success of the play Vera Mirtseva and its disappearance from the stage, and documents Madame Mirceva’s contributions to ballet in Western Australia. The project is led by her great-granddaughter, N. J. Hoffman, who was named Nadine after her. Madame Mirceva called her Nadika.

The work today

Through a biography, a bilingual edition of Vera Mirtseva and a historical novel, she is exploring how this history can be shared with new readers. The work grows alongside the preservation of Madame Mirceva’s personal library and family archive.

Why this history matters

Preserving Madame Mirceva’s books, papers and family memories keeps a record of how one émigré rebuilt her life in Australia. One of Nadine’s first priorities after arriving was to learn English, which she took up in her fifties. She became an Australian citizen, founded a ballet school in Maddington and contributed to the early years of West Australian Ballet. Her story is one way into the wider history of émigrés and other migrants in Australia. The collection helps us explore how people found their footing in a new country, carried their cultural traditions with them and shared their skills with the communities they joined.