Chinese nursery hires pole dancer to perform for children at ceremony

Principal at Shenzhen kindergarten fired after parents complain about 'adult' routine

The principal of a Chinese nursery has been sacked after she hired a pole dancer to perform for children at the school on their first day of term.

Education authorities in the Bao’an district of Shenzhen, south China, announced on Monday the dismissal of headteacher of Xinshahui Kindergarten, Lai Rong, after parents voiced outrage over the display.

In videos of the incident later circulated online, a scantily-clad female dancer can be seen performing a routine using a pole topped with a Chinese flag.

Hundreds of children were present at the event, which had been organised to welcome youngsters back to the pre-school after a summer break.

Michael Standaert, who said he was a parent of children at the kindergarten, complained about the incident on Twitter.

“Who would think this is a good idea?” he wrote, sharing footage of the incident shot by another concerned parent: “We're trying to pull the kids out of the school and get our tuition back.

“They wouldn't give us the number of the company that owns the school, but looking into that.

“The principal hung up on my wife when she called after saying it was ‘international and good exercise’ ... okay, yeah for adults maybe, but not 3-6 year old kids.”

In an apology letter sent to English-language Chinese newspaper the Global Times on Monday afternoon, Ms Lai said she had arranged the display due to the dancer’s “excellent skills”.

However, she admitted the school had failed to investigate whether or not the performance would be appropriate for children before allowing it to take place.

“A few parents did come to me requesting a refund and threatening to pull their children out of the school, while others said it was just to learn a new type of dance” she said.

“I may as well be dead. I already lost the hope to live.”