THE management of a kindergarten in Bao’an District has been ordered to dismiss its head for arranging a pole-dance performance for the children on the opening day of the new semester yesterday.

The performance at the opening ceremony triggered controversy among some parents, despite the head of kindergarten insisting that the aim was to show students another type of dance. The parents thought performing such a dance at school was inappropriate, even though it was done very professionally.

A video circulating online showed a dancer in black dancing on a platform in front of a crowd of children lining up on the campus. A parent uploaded the video online and captioned it, “How could I send my child to such a kindergarten?”

The dance was one of the performances organized by the school to mark the start of the new semester. Some parents thought it was inappropriate to have such a performance, especially on the platform used to raise the national flags on solemn occasions.

Lai Rong, head of the kindergarten, said the performance, which also included folk dance and jazz dance, was organized to liven up the atmosphere of the opening day, but some parents criticized the ceremony for being too commercial by scheduling a 40-minute performance for a 90-minute ceremony.

In a public notice, Bao’an’s education bureau said that it was inappropriate for the kindergarten to invite a training institution to give such a pole-dancing performance for children.

Bao’an District Education Bureau ordered the kindergarten operator to apologize to the parents and the public.

Lai later apologized for his lack of consideration, and the errors in his work, which resulted in a bad experience for the parents.

Statistics show the Xinshahui Kindergarten in Shajing Subdistrict is a privately run kindergarten whose property is owned by the government.

(Han Ximin)