05 March 2024 , 14:23
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A dancer has turned her incredible likeness to Britney Spears into a £20,000 side hustle - travelling the USA lip-syncing as a lookalike. Allegra DuVal, 35, says she's been compared to the star her whole life - and friends even nicknamed her Britney. Three years ago she embraced her similarity - and learned all the words and dance routines to the popstar's biggest hits and started working as a lookalike.
Now she regularly takes bookings from all over the States - charging around £2,300 for a one-night performance, including her travel expenses. She's performed for Nelly, Deadmau5, David Guetta, and Skrillex at nightclubs and festivals.
And while she doesn't even sing, guests love her spot-on choreography and the lightning-speed transitions between 26 handmade costumes. Allegra's main income is her performances - bringing in £20k a year. But it's supplemented through her social media content - such as sponsored videos, brand collaborations, and TikTok lives. The dancer from Virginia Beach, Virginia, US., said: "I've been told my whole life I resembled her.
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She grew up being told by everyone she met that she looked like Britney Spears. (Allegra DuVal / SWNS)
The professional dancer was always a fan of the pop princess (Allegra DuVal / SWNS)"I was 10 years old when she came out with 'Baby One More Time' and I've been a fan ever since. After my first few performances, I started making costumes, built a website, and started promoting myself as a Britney performer.
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"Now I've been to like 30 different places around the country performing to her hits. It takes a lot more work than people realise - prepping hair and costumes, keeping up my spray tan, nails and makeup and learning choreography.
"I spend at least an hour a day working out too - the dances are so athletic! I love the job so much - it's my passion - I hope I can do it for the rest of my life!" Allegra studied ballet, tap, jazz and lyrical from aged three. The professional dancer was always a fan of the pop princess - but never imagined she'd build a career off the resemblance.
She was asked to dance and lip-sync as Britney for the first time in 2016 as a one-off. She enjoyed it so much she began doing it more and more, and began hand-making replica costumes. After performing as her at Denver Pride in 2018, she was booked for the first time to perform as Britney at a birthday party in 2021.
Allegra said her favourite songs to perform are 'Work B*tch' and 'Slave 4 U' - and would "frickin' love" to meet her idol one day. Now it's a full-time job for her - alongside sharing paid Britney content on her social media platforms.
Allegra performs roughly two gigs a month but spends weeks prepping for each show. She said: "Because I have been a professional dancer many years, I was already used to keeping my nutrition and fitness up - I love to work out, be fit and eat well. I also love wearing makeup and being tanned too, so it works out. The only thing that can be a chore is the travel - I can spend 17 hours travelling for one 15-minute performance."
The former go-go dancer creates a custom set list based on her client's favourite Britney hits, and sometimes does on-stage costume changes. She charges around £1,500 a performance plus expenses and says 75% of her gigs are in California. She added: "I've even had dreams where I've met her. If I met her, I think I'd die."