This is the moment a councillor does the robot dance before sitting down at her computer for an online meeting before gasping in shock when she realises her camera was switched on.

Michelly Alencar, who is a councillor for the Brazilian city of Cuiaba (population 618,124), performed the ‘robot’ during an online meeting in front of at least 12 colleagues earlier this week.

A recording of the meeting shows how the councillor from the centre-right Democrats party jokes with a colleague off-screen before busting her machine-like moves and chuckling as she sits down in front of her computer.

She then gasps in shock as she realises her camera was switched on, swiftly getting up and walking away in embarrassment.

None of the participants attending the meeting commented on the councillor’s unorthodox entrance and swift exit, despite clearly being baffled by the unexpected spectacle.

The councillor has since tried to justify her “joke” with her advisor by playing the victim card.

In an extensive note, she wrote: “I have been striving to keep the work environment light, as my team and I work with difficult issues, we go to the front line, we enter hospitals with COVID-19 patients, we answer complaints.

“We are human beings and we also have our moments of relaxation. That’s how we handle it. And I ask you: had it been a man who had done this, would he have had this backlash?

“Every day I experience prejudice first-hand for being a woman, it seems we have to work three times as much to prove our worth. And in situations like this the burden gets heavier.”

She also went on the defensive, writing: “I carry out my role with a lot of dedication and professionalism. I have never missed a single session, I have introduced legislation, I am on the streets carrying out inspections and defending the rights of the citizens of Cuiaba.”

The city council of Cuiaba has been carrying out its regular meetings online since March last year, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The meetings are live-streamed and can be viewed by members of the public.

The city council has declined to comment on the case.