Aruba Coghlan honoured by former ballet student and local artist
An institution in the world of ballet is set to take centre stage at MTU as a portrait of Aruba Coghlan, as created by local artist Gillian Cussen, is to form part of the permanent collection on display at the award-winning School of Music in Cork city centre.
Officially unveiled on Friday, May 26, the portrait is an almost lifesize piece in acrylic and oil pastel which Kilworth lady, Gillian Cussen created during the summer of 2018.
According to Gillian, who is a graduate of the Crawford College of Art and Design, the idea to paint her former ballet teacher and renowned dancer came to her after she saw a piece from another artist portraying fellow famed Cork Ballet teacher, Joan Denise Moriarty.
“I work on a sessional basis at the Crawford Art Gallery and have done for 12 years now. I love drawing and there was a beautiful pastel drawing of Joan Denise Moriarty in the collection. I thought that Aruba should be up here somewhere as well, in some notable place in Cork City because she was so much a part of the culture of the ‘ 60s, ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s,” Gillian told TheAvondhu.
“She really only stopped teaching about four years ago. She kept going until she was almost in her 80s. She was still examining in London as part of the Royal Academy of Dancing and the IDTA (International Dance Teachers Association)”.
Aruba Coghlan was described as a ‘formidable’, ‘encouraging’ and ‘strict’, yet ‘inclusive’ dance teacher.
Gillian, who has returned to the art of ballet dancing following a break while she was living abroad, acknowledged Aruba’s passion for including so many different people in the art form and sport, while also offering encouragement wherever possible.
“She was just wonderful and she trained a lot of dancers who would have been from possibly less well-off backgrounds. She would have helped them and given lots of scholarships and wanted to encourage dance really,” Gillian said.
WELL-KNOWN COUPLE
Aruba began her career in dance at the age of four, founded and led the Cork Dance Company for more than five decades, and is a lifetime member of the Royal Academy of Dance.
In 2015, Aruba, along with her late husband Dr Sean Pettit, was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award from Cork City Council in recognition of her outstanding contribution to Cork’s heritage and cultural life.
In her earlier days, Aruba was known locally also, as once she began teaching dance, she spent 15 years teaching in Millstreet as well as some years in Loreto Convent in both Fermoy and Youghal.
She married Dr Sean Pettit, Cork historian and educationalist who was a well-known teacher and lecturer at UCC, who became widely known as a writer and broadcaster.
“Aruba was terribly active and she is full of energy, a very stylish lady. You would see the two of them (Aruba and Sean) in the ‘70s, ‘ 80s and ‘90s walking around Cork arm-in-arm. He would have almost a top hat on with his pipe. They were a very ‘ outthere’ couple,” Gillian added.
Painting Aruba, Gillian noted, was a ‘ fantastic’ experience and consisted of undertaking a number of drawings and sketches completed between sessions at Aruba’s home and Gillian’s own studio.
“She was the most wonderful sitter. We were just able to chat. It was more of an equal relationship at that stage because when you’re a child or a teenager, your ballet teacher is almost like a god. It was great to relate to her one artist to the other. It was really nice. She was very gracious and came up to see the finished product and seemed to really like it,” Gillian said.
Regarded as one of Cork’s eminent dance teachers, the unveiling on Friday honoured Aruba’s continued contribution to dance, ballet and the cultural heartbeat of Cork City and beyond. This event aligns with MTU’s strategic objective to engage actively through meaningful contribution to the local and regional community.
M.T.U. EXHIBITION
Gillian, who is also a member of Visual Artists Ireland and the Blackwater Valley Makers, is also preparing to exhibit a collection of works at MTU beginning on June 8.
The works, which primarily focus on her garden in Kilworth, are comprised of pieces made with her own inks sourced from the garden, such as from elderberries, chamomile and beetroot.
Instead of traditional methods, the pieces are also largely comprised of the ‘drawing blind’ method, in which the artist focuses on the subject matter rather than their own work, which offers unique and unusual results in the artwork.
The solo exhibition of Gillian Cussen’s work will be on display at MTU Cork School of Music and will run for the month of June.