Crowds gather to mourn for dancer and model killed in road crash
A PINK and white horse-drawn carriage led the funeral procession of a well-known performer and model as she was laid to rest almost three months after her death.
Lousha Liddell from Cardiff died while a pillion passenger on a motorcycle after a crash involving a car on January 3.
Lousha, 25, was a well-known dancer in both Cardiff and London and had performed with artists such as Ed Sheeran and Example.
She was also a successful model and recently secured adverts with Gap and River Island and is the current face of Gap with billboards on Leicester Square.
Crowds gathered for Lousha’s funeral which was held in Cardiff on Tuesday, 10 weeks after her death.
She was buried in a pink and white coffin in a procession led by horse and carriage.
The procession travelled to St German’s Church in Adamsdown before moving on to Western Cemetry in Ely.
As part of the service, Canon Stewart Lisk said that Lousha was christened in St German’s Church before paying tribute to the young woman and offering prayers for her family and friends.
The service included hymns such as I Watch The Sunrise and Amazing Grace as well as a special recording of I wish, I wish by her father.
Canon Lisk also noted how Lousha’s family should be celebrating her birthday this month, not mourning her. Lousha would have been 26 on March 19.
Originally from Splott, Lousha graduated from Middlesex University and was forging a career for herself in London and had dreams of being a creative director.
Paying tribute to her beloved daughter after her death in January, Joanne Stokes described her as a “dream child”.
Speaking at the time, she said: “Lousha was amazing, she was always happy, always a happy person. She would light up every room, she had an infectious laugh that everyone would always love. She just seemed positive in every situation, there was never a negative situation for her. She was just sunshine. She was never a moody child, she was a dream child from the day she was born.”
Joanne has three other children and said Lousha and her older brother were “like twins”, having being born less than a year apart.
It took so long for the funeral to be held as the family had to wait for Lousha’s body to be released by police in London.
Speaking of her daughter’s passion for performing, Joanne said: “She wanted to be a creative director, that’s where her passion was. She was a dancer, she danced for Jukebox in Cardiff originally then when she moved to London she danced for five different dance schools.
“She had so much ahead of her. She achieved so much in her young life that I think most people wouldn’t do in a lifetime. I was just a massively proud parent of her. She was the biggest achiever. Any parent would have wanted her as a child. All of her achievements and everything she accomplished, I was so proud of her. She achieved so much for it all to be taken away.”
Tributes have been flooding in for Lousha in recent weeks.
A Gofundme had been set up for her funeral by a childhood friend and raised more than £12,000. As part of this she paid tribute to her saying: “In the vibrant world of dance, Lousha was a hip-hop luminary – a 25-year-old dance choreographer and creative director whose artistry transcended the boundaries of movement.
“With boundless energy, infectious passion and an innate ability to fuse different dance styles, Lousha had become a beacon of inspiration for those fortunate enough to witness her creations.”