A kindergarten principal in China has been fired after she organised a pole dancing performance for a ceremony welcoming children at the start of the school year.

Key points: Footage of the pole dance was widely shared on social media

Footage of the pole dance was widely shared on social media The local education authority dismissed the principal and is investigating further

The local education authority dismissed the principal and is investigating further The principal has since apologised for the performance

Parents attending the ceremony in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen were horrified when a scantily clad pole dancer took to the stage and proceeded with a routine in plain view of their children.

Journalist Michael Standaert, whose children attend Xinshahui Kindergarten, tweeted that when his wife called to complain, principal Lai Rong said it was "international and good exercise" before hanging up the phone.

He also posted a photo of one of a set of advertisements for a pole dancing school that he said had been placed around the school.

Video footage of the pole dance, as well as one other burlesque performance by a second dancer, was widely shared on Twitter and Chinese social media.

Some users said parents should not entrust their children to such a school, while others were more measured in their responses.

"Pole dancing is by nature sexy and flirtatious, and by that measure, it is for the eyes of adults, not young children," said an anonymous user on Weibo, a popular social media site in China.

Another said: "Nursery children should learn knowledge, but not too much knowledge!"

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The performance at the government-owned kindergarten, part of a ceremony observing the start of China's school year, was quickly denounced by the local education bureau.

The authority has since called for the dismissal of the kindergarten director and is investigating further.

Ms Lai issued an apology, saying she thought "inviting professional dancers to the kindergarten to perform for the parents would liven up the mood".

She told The Washington Post that she had sent the apology before the bureau became 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," she told the Post.

"I just want the kids to know the existence of this kind of dance. That's all."

In a social media post, the education bureau of Baoan district also warned other kindergartens against inappropriate behaviour.

ABC/wires