After the videos garnered lots of unwanted attention on the Internet, the Bao'an educational bureau said the pole dance was “inappropriate.” In a statement on Weibo, the Chinese answer to Twitter, the bureau asked the owner of the kindergarten to apologize to the parents and the public, and to sack the principal.





The principal of the kindergarten, Lai Rong, issued an apology, saying she thought “inviting professional dancers to the kindergarten to perform for the parents would liven up the mood” on the first day back. “I did not think through the contents of the performance . . . It was a very terrible viewing experience for the kids and the parents. For that, I sincerely apologize,” according to a report on Weibo of her message to parents.

Lai told The Washington Post that she sent the apology even before the local education bureau got involved.





“I was thinking of asking the forgiveness from the parents and also promising them that we would not teach the kids this kind of dance. I just want the kids to know the existence of this kind of dance. That’s all,” she told The Post.

Many Weibo commentators said it was not an appropriate spectacle for a kindergarten. But not everyone disapproved.





“This is probably something to encourage the dads to pick up their kids," said Weibo user @Janson_Mou. “If my daughter's kindergarten is like this, I will go pick her up every day.”





The idea of having pole dancers or strippers at an event not usually associated with exotic dancing is not entirely new in China.





In 2015, the Chinese Culture Ministry cracked down on the “bizarre and increasingly popular” habit of having half-naked women perform at funerals, which was “corrupting the social atmosphere.”





“Having exotic performances of this nature at funerals highlights the trappings of modern life in China, whereby vanity and snobbery prevail over traditions,” the state news agency, Xinhua, reported at the time.





The practice appeared part of a tactic to attract more mourners to funerals, make the deceased look more popular and honor their life more fully. In flashy New China, it’s also become a way to flaunt newly gotten wealth.





China has had a tradition of entertaining mourners at funerals as far back as the Qing Dynasty, established in 1636. Some experts said that having exotic dancers at funerals — and at weddings — was a form of fertility worship. “In some local cultures, dancing with erotic elements can be used to convey the deceased’s wishes of being blessed with many children,” Huang Jianxing, a professor in Fujian Normal University's sociology department, told the Global Times.





The most eye-popping example of the exotic funeral occurred in Taiwan last year, when 50 women in lingerie pole-danced on moving black cars at the funeral of politician Tung Hsiang.





The Chiayi County Council speaker “enjoyed a buzz” so the funeral was designed to give him “a happy departure,” his son said, according to reports.



